Red Moon's Cry
by Magic Shade
Summary: An attack on Naruto under an eerily glowing moon leaves him with new powers and responsibilities. Will he be able to control this new beast, or will it destroy him? Werewolf Naruto. Dark/Smart Naruto. Undecided Pairing.
1. How it Began

Red Moon's Cry

Originally Written by: Kitsune Shinigami

Taking Over Writing: Eternal Thief

Note: I actually am Kitsune Shinigami, just taking over under a new Penname.

Music I am writing under: This chapter I am writing under Minutes to Midnight by Linkin Park and Move Along by the All American Rejects

Chapter 1: A Wolf in Wave

The forest was quiet. No creature stirred to disturb the coagulating peacefulness that had gathered there under a bright full moon. A single figure could be heard by the slight crunch of old leaves underfoot. As the figure approached one could see the bright glaringly orange outfit he wore, along with the hitai-ate he wore around his forehead, emblazoned with a symbol resembling a leaf. This was the boy known as Uzumaki Naruto.

Naruto slowly walked through the forest thinking of the events that had just transpired several hours ago on the unfinished bridge of Wave. He was thinking of hose useless he had been. His clones had done nothing to help him against an opponent of precision and speed such as Haku. His tact had been all but non-existent since he could have stayed outside the mirrors and attacked from there, but no, he had to rush in to help Sasuke. What a fool he had been. He had only defeated Haku because of the Kyuubi's immense rage and power. It was these facts that made Naruto realize how worthless he _truly_ was. Sakura was no better than him though. She only knew chakra control and text book knowledge, but that's more than could be said for him. And then there was the bane of his existence, Sasuke Uchiha. The genius. He took every chance to flaunt that in front of him. He had everything, popularity, knowledge, power, skill, and most of all, respect. Naruto leaned his back against a tree and closed his eyes. He thought of ending it all. He pulled a kunai out of his pouch, and examined it. He pulled out another kunai and compared the two.

One kunai was as sharp as could be. Perfectly sharpened and shaped. The other kunai was twisted, dented, and blunt. Absolutely worthless. He compared these two as him and Sasuke. He saw the sharpened kunai as worth something. Able to accomplish things, slay an enemy, protect one's self, and defend others. The blunted kunai had no value. It could do none of those things. Naruto sighed and moved to put both kunai back in his pouch before a growling sound attracted his attention.

---Scene Break---

Kakashi laid on the futon in his room staring blankly at the ceiling with his uncovered eye. _'What happened back there on the bridge…? The seal might have…No, Sensei was smarter than that. He wouldn't let that happen. But, I can't help but feel somewhat responsible. If I had trained Naruto more, maybe, Nah. We haven't trained much so far. I couldn't have done more for the boy.'_ With those thoughts Kakashi closed his eyes and drifted into calm and peaceful slumber, unaware of the danger the subject of his thoughts was in at this very moment, and also blissfully unaware of how much difference even training Naruto for 1 day would have been. If only he had known…

---Scene Break---

Naruto began to tremble. He had never felt a force quite like this one. Sure, he had felt something similar from that Zabuza guy, but this, _this_, was so much more, _primal._ It felt like the same thing only, with nothing keeping it in check, or holding it back. It was uncontrolled and bestial, and it made him want to run and hide. But the thing was, when he was staring into the face of some sort of creature with a snout full of razor sharp teeth, staring back at him snarling, the saliva dripping in globs from its maw, Naruto had nowhere to go, and nowhere to hide.

Taking the sharpened kunai still in his hand, Naruto slammed it as hard as he could into the snout of the creature. It howled in pain and reared back. The kunai, for all its worth, had only been able to pierce the creature's skin. The kunai was merely flung out from the shaking of its head. It was mostly uninjured except for a small bleeding wound on its snout. But even after only such a short time, Naruto had been able to escape from the beast's immediate attentions. It bent its head smelling the ground, and taking off in pursuit of the prey it had found.

Naruto ran away from the thing as fast as he could. Even though he was a ninja, in the face of this danger he panicked and ran. He was a ninja, but still an untrained one, and so he ran with no technique, wasting more energy than was needed. And instead of ignoring obstacles he merely barreled through them. He continued like this for several minutes before bending over panting.

"Whew. For a minute there I thought I was-" Naruto never got to finish as the beast latched itself onto his back. Naruto let loose a scream of horrific proportions and intensity as the beast tore into the soft flesh of his shoulder.

---Scene Break---

(A/N- I'm trying to get a bit of all the characters' perspectives on Naruto in here as he's attacked)

Sakura shot up in bed panting. Her body was covered in a cold sweat. She clutched the sheets remembering the horrid nightmare she had just had. She had had a dream in which Sasuke was being torn to shreds by a strange beast. It somewhat resembled a wolf but she couldn't really tell. It had begun by tearing into his shoulder. After ripping the flesh from there it began to claw at his ribcage, breaking several of his ribs, and nearly goring his lung. From there…

---Scene Break---

Naruto continued to scream, but with less intensity. His partially exposed lung screamed in agony as it pressed against several of his shattered ribs. It made it nearly impossible for him to breathe. He just wished he could pass out to rid himself of the pain for a while at least. He screamed with renewed vigor as the beast bit into his stomach and ripped out a section of his small intestine. _'Ok, maybe dieing would be better…' _The pain was so intense Naruto thought he was going to die. The pain was worse than any beating the villages had ever given him. Raising his uninjured arm, in a last ditch attempt to rid himself of the beast, he slammed the blunt kunai in his hand into the beast's eye. Surprising how it did more than the sharp kunai. The beast roared in worse agony than it had before. It swung its paw catching Naruto in the face completely shredding his left eye, and damaging his right beyond repair. Naruto screamed with all his might even as his lung pressed sharply into his ribs. The beast reared its head back and howled in victory.

--- Scene Break---

Sasuke sat on the roof of Tsunami's house thinking back to the rest of the mission. He closed his eyes remembering what Naruto had done for him against Haku.

_'The dobe didn't do it for any particular reason. Probably thought he could make himself look good by jumping in there. Although his bunshins were some help in distracting that boy…'_ Sasuke shook those thoughts out of his head. It wasn't true. But a voice in the back of his head kept gnawing at it. It kept saying, _**'What if he DOES care? What if you don't have to be alone? What if you could have… a friend?' **_Sasuke dismissed the voice as well. He was an avenger, and he needed no one. With these thoughts firmly in mind, Sasuke turned to go back inside when a scream reached his ears coupled with a disturbing howl. _'That sounded like…'_ "Oh Kami…"

--- Scene Break ---

Kakashi had been asleep for scarcely ten minutes when his door was blown open by someone. Kakashi groaned expecting it to be Naruto, but was surprised to see Sasuke standing there.

"Sasuke, what do you want? If it's about the mission it can wait till-"

"It's Naruto." At this he had Kakashi's full attention.

"What about him?"

"I just heard a scream from the woods. It wasn't really something Naruto would make. It was more like someone was being… torn apart…" Sasuke swallowed not being able to fully convey the emotion and feeling contained in that scream.

"And how does this relate to Naruto? I'm sure he's asleep in his own room perfectly fine." Kakashi spoke, trying to reassure Sasuke as his eye form an upside-down U.

"He's not. I checked." When Kakashi heard this, his face lost all hints of reassurance.

"Sasuke. Wake Sakura. And whatever you do, _do not leave this house. _Whatever it is out there may have already deserted whatever it was it was attacking and may be coming for something, or someone, else. If I don't come back by morning, try and get back to Konoha and explain what happened." Sasuke just merely nodded. If this… thing, whatever it was, could kill Kakashi-sensei, then, what chance did him and Sakura stand against it? But in spite of that Sasuke just nodded and headed to wake up Sakura.

--- Scene Break ---

Kakashi leaped through the trees looking for any hint of a battle, or any sort of tracks. He was unable to find anything. No one could cover their tracks this well. And the only tracks he found were those of a… wild… beast… Kakashi mentally beat himself over the head. The thing that Sasuke heard WAS a wild animal. Kakashi followed the oath with renewed vigor.

When Kakashi came to a small clearing he noticed a large wolf like creature standing over something. Taking no chances Kakashi raised his hitai-ate and formed hand seals.

"Raikiri!" Kakashi slammed the ball of electricity into the body of the creature. The smell of burning hair and flesh filled the air as the creature howled in pain before its heart bust and its lungs were fried by the volts of electricity. Kakashi looked down at what was under the beast and when he saw, his eyes widened and he nearly lost what he ate for dinner. The boy's body was horribly maimed. His intestines were spilling on the ground in a grotesque manner and his chest was all but gone. His ribs were shattered and pieces could be seen scattered in the area. His lung was punctured by a shattered rib, and his eyes were almost gone. His left eye was entirely missing except for a few scraps left where it once was, and his right eye had a large gouge across the middle of it, revealing a small amount of pooling blood inside of it. Even to a seasoned ninja, such beastly carnage was disheartening. Kakashi fell to his knees and began to weep. That was until he heard a faint wheezing coming from Naruto.

"He…He's still alive?" Kakashi asked himself tears staining his mask. He crawled over to Naruto's body and pushed the bloodied organs back into place as best he could. Some pieces were missing and he figured they would do him no good now. He wept as he did the bloody task. He didn't want to lose someone else close to him. Even if he had only known him for a few short weeks.

--- Scene Break ---

Naruto waded through waist high water. The water was being fueled by a slow dripping from the pipes that were overhead. If he had paid attention, he would have noticed the pipes were punctured and crushed like they had been in the maw of some large beast. But despite this, Naruto continued on his way thorough the water. He trudged through the sludge for what seemed like hours before coming to a large set of bars in his face. By this time the water was approaching armpit level. Naruto looked up and was suddenly face to face with a set of large red eyes.

**"Boy. What are you doing here? Haven't you already caused me enough misery with this dreaded water?" **Naruto blinked at the sound of the loud voice.

"Who the hell are you!?" Was the only response that Naruto could come up with at this point.

**"I am the Great Kyuubi no Kitsune! And don't you ever forget it, flesh sack." **The voice told him.

"One, what's with the water, and two, why the hell are you here?"

Kyuubi sighed. **"I'm here because I'm sealed into your body, remember boy? And this water shows your mind is falling apart and is attempting to null the effects by, drowning itself. Or in actuality, overload itself. If you were conscious you would instantly fall unconscious due to pain." **

"What do you mean my mind is drowning itself? Why it do something as stupid as that!?" Naruto yelled at the large figure in the dark.

**"To put it more simply, you are dieing boy." **

"WHAT THE HELL! Well, can't you do something about it?"

** "Foolish brat. Due to the circumstances you arrived here under, there is nothing I can do until you make piece with your alter ego."**

"My alter ego?"

**"Yes boy, your alter ego. He formed from the events that transpired during your arrival. Until you cease to be separate beings then your mind will attempt to kill itself due to the stress of having three souls occupy it."**

"Ok, good enough. Where's my alter ego? Somewhere in this dump right?"

**"That is correct boy."**

"Well, you live here, tell me where he is! I mean, I don't have long before my mind drowns itself, right?"

**"That is the problem boy, you WILL die if you cannot find your alter ego, and as to where he is. I do not know. He is somewhere within this labyrinth." **Naruto just gaped at the Kyuubi. He was gonna die and the Kyuubi had no idea what to do? Naruto had three words that summed up this situation quite well.

"Well, I'm fucked."

--- End Chapter---

**2375 words. Not bad for a first chapter. It certainly outdoes my first version of this story. This version will also contain more violence, more gore, it will make more sense, and I will put in better explanations. Ya happy yah damn muse! I'm re-writing it! So get that fucking evil plot bunny out of my face! So, I'll get the newest chapter up as soon as I can. And as an added bonus to you guys, I'm posting the music I listen to as I right! It's an obsession of mine to listen to music no matter what. So, the music somewhat helps set the tone. Anyways, Ja Ne! Enki Shumasu Tsugi Kikan! To anyone who can guess what that is, CORRECTLY guess it, I will write a OneShot on any topic you ask for! Also, you must be the FIRST person to guess it correctly!**


	2. Of Wolves and Foxes

Red Moon's Cry

Chapter 2: Of Wolves and Foxes

Writing Influence: My entire iTunes library. If you want, I'll post a comprehensive list by name and author in my profile.

-#- A/N

---Chapter Begin---

Naruto waded as best he could through the rising water. It was cold and slimy and felt as though it would strangle him if it was given that chance. He had been crawling through this slime for what seemed like hours. Naruto sighed.

"At least I have plenty of time. But once the water reaches the ceiling I'll die…"

A loud voice rang out. **"That's where you're wrong. You have until the water covers your body completely and you drown." **Naruto choked. He had almost no time left. He began pushing his way through the water with more vigor and strength then before. He pushed against the force resisting him heading for the wall in front of him. As he approached the water began to rise faster. The pipes overhead shrieked and squealed with intensifying pressure. Naruto's mind began to blur and lights began popping in front of him. His head began to swim and he forced the last few steps to the wall in front of him.'

Naruto could barely comprehend what was happening. He saw a fuzzy image of a black fox in front of him with gleaming green eyes. He focused on it as well as he could.

"Are you… my alter ego?" the fox grinned.

_"That I am. And reaching me under these conditions, both physical and mental, I have to congratulate you. You seem worthy of the gifts I bring and the powers I hold."_ Before it could finish Naruto had collapsed, fainting in his own mind. His body drifted down the corridor as the pipes over head shattered in a spray of discarded water and metal shards. Below the fox grinned in a sick devious way. _"If your sensei had not destroyed my remaining body, you would not be as powerful as you will be. Not to mention you are the first to feel the bite of Kurotsuki -1-…"_

Kyuubi gave a sigh of relief before growling at the rising water. His vessel had made peace with his alter ego but had caused his mind to buckle in on itself. Kyuubi had to do something. His body would not be able to hold this power; he would die no matter what. He growled louder contemplating his next move.

_"Quite a predicament hmmmm Kyuubi?"_

**"What do ****you**** want **_**wolf?**_** Or should I say**_** werewolf?"**_

_ "I want, no, require your assistance for a task of the most daunting proportions. As I am sure you know, this body couldn't possibly hold both you and me, while sustaining the boy's life. So, I ask for your assistance in my undertaking."_

**"And what is this 'undertaking' you plan to perform?"**

_"It's quite simple really Kyuubi. If you have a jar to hold your drinking water, but the jar becomes unsatisfactory, there is only one course of action you can take."_

"**You… you can't mean… you're going to..!" **

"_Precisely Kyuubi. If something is not to your liking, you remove it and replace it…"_

---Scene Break---

Kakashi kneeled over Naruto's crumpled and crushed body as he cried silent salty tears, staining his mask darker under both his eyes. Naruto had been cut down in his prime, and never had the chance to truly prove how strong he could have been. Kakashi looked over the boy's body once again before lifting his hand to check for a pulse once more. He felt nothing before a slight pulse came through.

"Naruto! Fight it! Stay alive! I might have failed sensei when he needed me the most, but I'll be damned before I let his final wish go unfulfilled, even if it's only one person upholding it, a promise is a promise!" Kakashi spoke to no one in particular. He sighed once more before realizing Naruto's pulse was quickening. It was going faster and faster. His heart was driving itself so hard it was probably ripping apart. Kakashi's eyes widened as he felt the blood boil. Kakashi knew what would happen as he dived behind a large rock and dared not look.

A large sickeningly evil aura surrounded Naruto as his heart began beating at unimaginable speeds pumping blood like a piston. His blood began to heat itself reaching temperatures of 97 degrees Celsius. He began to pant his breath forming clouds due to its unusually high heat. Naruto's body began to shake when his blood's temperature spike to over 200 degrees. His veins began to burn and disintegrate. Then it happened. It started with his right hand. If Naruto could see he would have been riveted to the spot. His right hand first began to bubble on his palm, the skin beginning to melt. Behind his rock Kakashi gagged due to the overwhelming stench of burning flesh. Naruto's hand then began to pulse and inflate. It filled like a balloon. His hand puffed and began changing from pale white, to a sickening red from bursting blood vessels, to a strangling blue, to a dieing purple. It finally changed black as his hand exploded in a mass of flesh, super-heated blood, and bone fragments spattering the rocks in the area around him. It began to happen to his left hand next. Except this time it began with his fingers. Each one exploding in turn before his remaining hand burst in a fresh shower of red.

Kakashi cowered behind the rock shaking from the traumatizing sound of his student's appendages exploding one by one. When there was a lull, Kakashi assumed it was over and stepped out meekly from behind the rock. He gasped and tried to move, but didn't make it in time. A piece of heel bone cut across his face leaving a small cut in his mask, blood flowing form underneath. Kakashi dove behind another tree as the sickeningly loud explosion went off again signaling the destruction of his student's remaining foot. Kakashi grimaced as his student still had his arms and his legs.

Naruto's arms and legs all went off at the same time, spewing blood from where his other appendages were removed. Even while unconscious Naruto continued screaming in horrible pain. He paused, his body shaking and gasping as he lay armless and legless on the now blood covered forest floor, decorated by chunks of steaming, blackening flesh, and charred bone shards.

---Scene Break---

Sasuke and Sakura cringed and attempted to block out the horrendous screams and loud explosions that rang from the forest. Sakura clung to Sasuke's arm in fear and was whimpering. Sasuke just stood riveted to the spot unable to move due to the immense fear of the sounds, and the implications of what they carried with them. If he was correct, both Kakashi and Naruto might both be dead by now…

---Scene Break---

Kakashi lay on the ground panting, his one visible eye as wide as it would go. He drew in shaky breaths unsure of what was happening. He looked from behind his tree during the lull of grotesque animation to see what would happen. He watched in horror at what occurred next.

Naruto's torso literally began to burn. His flesh disintegrated leaving behind charred and bloody ground beneath it. It tore through leaving a part untouched. This part began to regenerate new flesh bone and skin. As the burning reached Naruto's exposed lung it collapsed in on itself before inflating past the breaking point popping like a balloon. A new lung materialized before Kakashi's very eyes. When it reached his heart a large explosion of blood covered everything that had not yet been colored by the life of Naruto. It tore through to his exposed organs. His intestines lashed out like whips flinging huge several foot chunks from within him. His stomach filled with juices and burst. His intestines removed themselves through various explosions and bursts of blood. And following after the destruction was the formation of new skin, organs, muscle tissue, and all other sorts of things required for a body to function and reproduce. (No details for all you sick little perverts! Or you sick big perverts either come to think of it…) Kakashi eyed Naruto's torso. It was strongly built, well muscled and lean, but not overly muscled like a body builder's. Surprisingly the seal was still there.

Next Naruto's hair singed away in an instant, leaving him with a bloody bare scalp. It burned through his scalp to his skull. The fire spread across Naruto's entire head engulfing him. It burned through his throat destroying it. It disappeared revealing a skull set in a horrifying final silent scream. The skull melted into a slop of bone and calcium before sliding the torso. A new skull quickly grew from the end of his spine. It was almost exactly the same, although somewhat harder and a small bit lager. A form of grayish matter formed inside the brain cavity forming an organ of thought. Skin grew over the skull as red hair streaked with black flowed from his scalp reaching his shoulders. A mass of cartilage extended forming a nose, and the eye sockets began to quiver as the ends of optical nerves formed. Eyes grew quickly in the sockets revealing slit pupils surrounded by a dark forest green iris. Eyelids formed over the eyes as ears sprouted from the side of his head. On the inside vocal chords formed as his throat was re-constructed.

From the stumps of his appendages sprouted new arms and legs. First the bone shot out and quickly gave it form. Muscle wrapped around the bones in taut chords to provide movement. A layer of fat slid along the muscle coating it, with skin following closely behind. His legs formed much the same way. When they were finished Naruto had arms and legs to match his toned and well formed body.

Kakashi crept out from behind the tree he had been cowering behind. Looking around the clearing Kakashi gave in and heaved the contents of his stomach on the ground. The pungent smell was absolutely nothing compared to the vulgar stench of burning flesh and hair, and the freshly spilled blood covering the area. All areas that could be penetrated by a sharp object, mostly trees, although some rocks were included, were pierced through by shards and pieces of bone that had been fired from Naruto's body. Kakashi looked over shocked at the change in Naruto. Every single deep cut he had received in his life that had simply healed with no sign, were marked by large scars. Across Naruto's face were three nearly identical slashes crossing over his eyelids and continuing across his face. His red hair lay limp drenched in sweat. In fact, Naruto's entire body glowed in the moonlight. Kakashi looked around for any evidence of the beat that had attacked him, but found none. Kakashi sighed, letting his muscles relax. It was going to take one hell of a massage to get all of this tension out of his muscles.

---Scene Break---

Sasuke stood at the window of Tsunami's house staring outside into the inky black of the night. Sakura still clung to his arm, snoring gently in the quiet arms of slumber after the traumatic events of the night. Sasuke squinted into the darkness as he saw a tall figure approach. He held his breath unsure of who, or what, it was due to the large lumpy shadow where its head should have been placed. Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief when it was revealed to be Kakashi. He looked in puzzlement at the figure at the figure on Kakashi's back. He had no idea who this mysterious figure could be. Perhaps it was a cohort of Zabuza's looking for revenge, or a missing nin of some country. Sasuke practically drooled at the praise he would receive for helping to capture the ninja, even though technically, he had done absolutely nothing to help capture him. Sasuke then realized that this man was naked. Sasuke then realized he was drooling, while staring at this guy, while the guy was naked. Sasuke quickly shut his mouth wiping off the drool so fast not even the Sharingan would have been able to follow it.

Kakashi lugged Naruto's body the last few meters to Tsunami's house, not recognizing Sasuke and Sakura at the window. He nudged the door open with his sandaled foot and trudged exhaustedly up the stairs. Sasuke just watched as Kakashi dragged himself tired and bloody up the stairs. Sasuke was horrified by the amount of blood covering Kakashi's person. But neither he nor the guy he was carrying had any wounds. The man only had several scars. Except they were all large scars. Scars of a seasoned warrior. Scars that shouldn't belong to someone only slightly older than himself, or so he thought.

Kakashi flopped lazily onto the soft and welcoming futon in his room. He sighed knowing the inevitable questions that Sasuke would approach him with. He had no idea if it was going to be tonight or in the morning. It all depended on when Sasuke saw and or met Naruto again…

"Kakashi-sensei." Well, looks like it's tonight Kakashi thought with a mental sigh.

"What is it Sasuke?"

"First if all, who was that guy, why are you covered in blood, why are neither of you injured, and why is he here, and what happened to Naruto?"

"Sasuke, that's more than one question."

"…"

"Alright, fine. Now, to answer all of your questions, I must tell you a story. For those questions can't be answered one at a time without further explanation. So, to begin, after I left the house, I located Naruto who was being attacked by… a chuunin." Sasuke did not miss Kakashi's slight hesitation. "Naruto, not being skilled enough to fight off a chuunin sustained heavy injuries. Before I could jump in to assist him he activated a kekkei genkai called Naka no Shintai Kaihoo Shimasu -2-. The explosion of chakra destroyed the chuunin's body causing the massive amount of blood you see. The chakra healed Naruto's body but left several scars due to the severity of his injuries. The Naka no Shintai Kaihoo Shimasu also caused several physical changes in Naruto. Such as the change in the color of his hair, his height, and several other… features." Sasuke just glared at this new information. The dobe had a bloodline? Psh, so the dobe looked different, big deal. His Sharingan was the greatest kekkei genkai to ever exist. Some stupid Naka no Shintai Kaihoo Shimasu couldn't stand up to his Sharingan.

---Scene Break---

Naruto groggily opened his eyes and peered at his surroundings. He was lying in the middle of a large evergreen forest. No sounds could be heard. Even as he moved the pine needles beneath him made no noise. Naruto shouted, but his voice died within meters. The surroundings were calm, but also disturbingly quiet. Naruto jumped at the sound of something behind him. When he turned around he saw it was the same black wolf as before.

"Hey uhh… Kurotsuki was it? Where are we? And what are you doing here?"

_"We are in your mind boy. And I am here simply because this is where I will reside for a short time before my position is filled."_

"Position? What position does a wolf hold?"

_"Well you see boy, I am no mere wolf. Before ending up here I was actually a Shitouken. I am sure you have no idea what a Shitouken (Not a real word) is. A Shitouken is the earthly representative of a specific Jigoku Doobutsu-3-. We are the ambassadors of Jigoku-4-. We live here, on the mortal realm to keep all of Jigoku up to date on current going-ons, and we also keep you ningen in your places. A prime example was the Kyuubi attack. Konoha was growing too powerful and had to be destroyed. Although their total destruction was unsuccessful, Konoha was still crippled, economically, physically, and emotionally. And I was sent here to rectify another problem. The Kyuubi no Yoko was imprisoned inside a mortal body, which was creating an imbalance. So, the closest relatives of the Kitsune Ambassador, was sent. They chose the Henkei Shimasu Ookami-5-. Better known to you human creatures, as werewolves. My job was to destroy you and release the Kyuubi no Yoko once again, to finish its work. But, after certain, intervention, my body was destroyed. But, I had thought ahead to this situation. If I had not considered my death, your shoulder would be unwounded. For you see, the reason I am still here is because my bite transferred a small piece of my soul to you. Unfortunately it shoved me into your damned seal. Therefore anymore of my essence attempting to rejoin with me will only be absorbed by you, as it recognizes you as me. So it is your task to become the next Henkei Shimasu Ookami."_

"Does that mean I'll turn into some sort of creepy wolf demon thing?"

_"No. You will however become a werewolf. This comes from the venom in our saliva. It is actually more a virus than a venom. It enters your blood stream, before stationing itself in the wall of your heart. From there it multiplies itself and sends itself to an adjacent cell in your heart. This process repeats until the entire heart wall is occupied. Then they begin using your veins as a transport system, eventually infecting every single cell in your body. Now, Tenken Tsuki Akarui, -6- the Moon Goddess, is the one who originally blessed Ookami with the ability to infect humans and make them their followers, but no wolf wants to have a human as a follower, so it originally transformed the infected into a wolf, permanently, at the first full moon he was under. But since then it has mutated to the point where the infected transform under any moon besides the Kuro Tsuki, -7- but only for the time they are under the moon. And since the moon is out even in the day, Tenken Taiyoo Akarui -10-, the Sun God allied himself with humans to give them protection. The moon will not transform them as long as they are touched by, or can see, his light."_

"So, basically I turn into a wolf every night due to some virus you gave me?"

_"In layman's terms, yes." _

"Ok, so if this is my mind, where's that furry assed Kyuubi?"

_"Ah yes, follow me."_

Kurotsuki stood up and stretched before plodding off into the dense woodland. Naruto jogged to keep up with him. They traveled at a moderately slow pace until they came to a long row of trees, each with a door in the shape of an object representing something.

"Kurotsuki, what are these doors?"

_"Those doors boy, are the pathways to your memories. The color dictates its association. The darker ones are worse memories while brighter ones are happier memories. There are also other colors that I will not go into detail at this time." _Naruto simply nodded staring at one tree they were passing by. Its door was the shape of an oval. But on the door was a weasel's head crossed by a snake and a dragon…

They came to a very large tree. It had a large cave carved into its side with bark serving as bars. A large leaf was growing form one of the bars and it was covered by the same seal on Naruto's stomach. This was the new cage of the Kyuubi no Yoko.

**"So, you have arrived boy. And I see you brought that **_**wolf**_ **along with you too." **Kyuubi spoke spitting out the word wolf like it was some kind of vile sin. **"You can thank that vile creature for what it's done to your body boy. I tried to warn him against it, but he would not listen. He insisted on the changes." **The Kyuubi secretly grinned in the shadowy recesses of his prison. This may serve to turn the boy against the wolf and direct the boy to him.

"Changes?" Naruto asked confused. Kurotsuki merely held up a full body mirror allowing Naruto to examine his new looks. He blinked before asking an obvious question that was bound to pop-up in this situation. "Why am I naked?" Kurotsuki just smacked a paw over his eyes while Kyuubi just stared for a second before erupting in a cacophony of laughter.

_"Child, just think of you clothed. And if you choose that hideous orange garment I will finish the job I was sent to here to do!"_ Naruto nodded knowing fully what he meant. The Kyuubi just watched as the wolf threatened the boy. He was starting to like that wolf.

Naruto decided on loose baggy black durable cloth pants with black sandals. To prevent unnecessary trouble he taped the ends of his pants to his ankles. He wore a form-fitting forest green shirt with a black chuunin style vest over it. Emblazoned on the back in red was the kanji for the word fukushuu, or revenge. He wore his hitai-ate over his right bicep. His black streaked hair was tied into a short ponytail at the end of his neck. Kurotsuki raised his eyebrows at Naruto's choice of clothing but said nothing.

"Now, Kurotsuki, about what Kyuubi said about my looks before, he said you had insisted on changing them. Would you care to explain why?" Kurotsuki looked at Naruto a second before glancing at Kyuubi.

_"My reason was actually fairly simple. There was no way your pathetic human shell could handle three separate entities. Your body was already much stressed from handling Kyuubi. His chakra was corrosive to humans, and you were no different. Although the seal slowed the flow considerably, your body was unable to build up a resistance. Also, your mind was not in the greatest shape. Early childhood trauma next to have Kyuubi sealed into you, you were beaten many times, causing severe blunt force trauma. Although you lived due to Kyuubi's efforts, your mind suffered severely. Your mind was already killing itself before I arrived, although at a much slower pace. It broke down once I entered because I was not bound by a seal. Seals act as an extension to contain whatever enters. But seals take up mental space, but require less mental focus to control as the seal does that by itself. So when I came in without a seal, and was mentally and physically bonded to you, your mind couldn't take it. And even if your mind could, your body would break down due to Kyuubi's corrosive chakra, the stress of transformations into your werewolf form, and normal injuries and everyday activities. So, to rectify all this, I, with Kyuubi's assistance, destroyed your old body and replaced it with your new one." _

"Well, thanks, I guess… So, how'd you replace my body? Remove my spirit and create a new one and insert it into that one?" Naruto asked quite puzzled.

_"Hm. That might have worked better, but regardless, we basically overloaded your body with Kyuubi's corrosive chakra causing your blood to boil and evaporate, causing your appendages and limbs to literally well, explode. We then burned your torso away, and grew it out of Kyuubi's chakra and your already existing cells. We also recreated your limbs. Your head was then burned removing all skin before your skull melted. We then reconstructed your head and everything in it. So, overall you got a completely new body. Oh yeah, you're naked too. Your clothes were destroyed." _Naruto just gawked before everything started to become fuzzy.

_"It seems our tie here has been cut short. How unfortunate…"_

**"Yes it is. But next time we wil…" ** Kyuubi's voice faded out of existence as Naruto returned to the realm of his physical body.

---Scene Break---

Naruto slowly opened his eyes squinting them at the glaringly bright sunlight that filtered into his room. He blinked before sitting up slowly. He seemed surprisingly awake. He looked down at his bare chest and noticed several large scars across it. Each one held a tale to be told. The worst was a large X that spanned from the one shoulder to the opposite side of his hip on both sides. It came from that one night several years ago. The ANBU had shown up, and he foolishly thought they were there to save him from the beating. Instead, an ANBU wearing a mask shaped like an owl had drawn his katana and proceeded to attack Naruto. Only the two diagonal slashes were deep enough to leave scars after his transformation. Naruto had since then wondered who it was behind that dreaded owl mask. Who would attack a poor defenseless 5 year old child? Naruto had no solid suspects, but he did have one theory. But it was almost thrown out the window, just almost. Naruto shook that thought from his head before noticing the pile of clothes at the end of his bed. Looking over them, they were a set of roughly cut clothes just like those of Kakashi's. Naruto would have to thank him for sacrificing a pair of clothes for him. Naruto stretched relieving some of the tension in his muscles, and walked into the bathroom carrying the clothes next to him.

After getting dressed, Naruto tied his hitai-ate to his right bicep, and tied back his hair. He looked at his eyes in the mirror, studied his hair, and looked at his teeth. His teeth had gotten longer and sharper, his eyes were now that creepy forest green. His hair, black and red was an interesting touch on his visage. He looked in the mirror one last time before heading down the stairs to breakfast.

As Naruto pulled out a chair and sat down, he noticed Sasuke's glare at him. He also registered the fact that Sakura's chopsticks stopped halfway to her mouth, and the rice held in between them simply fell to the plate below.

"Kakashi-sensei, who is this guy? And where's Naruto! I mean, when you left last night, I expected you to find Naruto and bring him back, but who's this guy?"

"Well Sakura, he's actuall-" Kakashi was cut off before he could finish his sentence.

"Shut your mouth you stupid girl. That IS Naruto. Even if he looks different he's still the same idiotic dobe underneath. Dobe, your Naka no Shintai Kaihoo Shimasu is nothing compared to my Sharingan! Even with your new power, I am, and always WILL be better than you in every single way!" Sasuke stated beginning quietly and slowly before gaining force. Sakura just stared at Sasuke before shaking her head vigorously.

"Yeah Naruto-baka! You'll never be anywhere near Sasuke! You're just trying to be cooler than him by making yourself look different! You'll never make me like you that way idiot! My heart belongs to Sasuke!" Sakura yelled, nodding convincingly to herself.

**"Yamata! Surely that speech will get rid of Naruto-baka and win Sasuke's heart!" **Inner Sakura shouted with conviction. Sakura was apparently convinced, along with her alter ego, that she would be able to swoon Sasuke without any sort of skill of any kind. Naruto just sighed and set down his chopsticks next to his empty plate.

"Kakashi watashi no tomodachi -8-, if you are looking for me I shall be on the bridge awaiting your arrival for our departure." With those words Naruto stepped out of the house and walked away. Kakashi merely watched him leave and glanced at his other two students a slight anger hidden in the depths of his eyes.

_'Friend? Is that how you see me Naruto? More than a sensei? I've done nothing to earn your trust. I think it's about time I changed that fact.' _With this resolution in mind, Kakashi thanked Tsunami for her hospitality, and quickly left dragging Sasuke and Sakura after him ignoring their cries of protests. Kakashi was in no mood to deal with any of their comments.

---Scene Break---

Naruto leaned against the side of the bridge of the bridge awaiting Kakashi and his two teammates. He had his eyes closed and merely stood there as if contemplating something. As Kakashi walked by he wordlessly started to follow Kakashi slipping his hands into his pockets, never opening his eyes. He simply ignored the two behind him. Sasuke who was right behind him was mad that Naruto was somehow taller than he was. He chalked it up to Naruto's bloodline.

_"Feh, just like the dobe his bloodline is useless. So he gets different hair and eyes and he's taller. How useless doesn't he know how useless height is in battle? Being taller creates an inconvenience for you. -9-" _Sasuke also forgot to mention to himself how being shorter could also be an inconvenience in a fight. Sasuke just "hmph" 'ed and continued to follow after Kakashi and Naruto brooding over Naruto's special treatment. Treatment HE deserved! Sakura just ogled Sasuke with large fan-girl like hearts ever present in her eyes. Naruto just chose to ignore them continuing to walk alongside Kakashi, almost as an equal.

They passed by two farmers who were eagerly conversing over some strange subject.

"I'm tellin' Yer! Dat Werlf wur as big as yer can burleve! It ated mar den hayve off mah chackies! At blunded in haere and'a sterted gubbleobling all o' me chackies! Duh gapping muw on dat cratter wus as bag as dem crocurdillies dat sumtims seens round dis 'ere parts in de fluwery ploces!" (Eck. So hard to write in such bad grammar. But if you wanna get the whole feel of how I intended for them to sound, read it out loud. It really puts the pronunciation in there.)

Translation for the benefit of readers:

"I'm telling you! That wolf was as big as you can believe! It ate more than half of my chickens. It bounded in here and started gobbling all of my chickens. The gaping maw on that critter was as big as those crocodiles that sometimes are seen around here in the spring time." 

End Translation for the benefit of readers.

"Och! Sure yeh did! And mah wee lassie Osstie is 'a gonna run off tah get married in not nigh near twuh weeks yeh crazy uld coot! Aand if dat idn't enough convincerin' for yeh, yee can take it up wit mah fist yah muggit face!"

Tftbor: "Sure you did! And my young daughter Osstie is going to run off to get married in almost two week you crazy old coot. And if that isn't enough convincing for you, you can take it up with my fist 'muggit face.'" 

End Tftbor.

"Fah! Wotiver ies yies dis wuntin tar beliver is nottin o' me buzzerness! Bert I's is wurnering yeh! Win dat ald Werlf comes a bounderin inter dis's 'ere place, it is a gerna be yuh felliz huhs gonna beh payins in deh blud oh yuh children!"

Tftbor: "Fah! Whatever it is you want to believe is none of my business! But I'm warning you! When that old wolf comes a bounding into this here place it's going to be you guys who'll be paying in the blood of your children!" 

End Tftbor.

With those words the crotchety old farmer making remarks about children walked back into his old hut and slammed the rickety door closed. Sasuke snorted at his terrible grammar. Sakura just continued ogling Sasuke not hearing a word of the conversation. Naruto was still deep in thought, although his thought had changed direction.

_'__His words hold a ring of truth. Although it won't be the children that pay in blood, and it won't be here in Wave. But the wolf will return. You can pride yourself on that fact… Konoha.'_

End Chapter.

**5,328 words! A decent count that more doubles the length of this story! Now, for the Author's Notes and Translations I KNOW you guys all love!**

**-1- Black Moon – The name of the werewolf that bit Naruto. He is also the ambassador for the wolves to the mortal plane.**

**-2- Inner Body Release – The supposed bloodline of Naruto's used to explain the fact of his change in appearance.**

**-3- Hell Creature – An animal or creature that resides in Hell. This includes Mortal Ambassadors, their species, summons, and other sort of demonic creatures.**

**-4- Hell – Underworld. The plane where deceased spirits who are not granted sanction in Tengoku (Heaven) arrives. Also the planes of existence of Mortal Ambassadors, their species, summon creatures, and other various species.**

**-5- Transform Wolf – Better known on the mortal plane as Werewolves. Originated from a species of demonic wolf with the original ability to take the form of a human. Evolved into the current species of Henkei Shimasu Ookami. **

**-6- Heavenly Moon Light – The name of the Goddess of the Moon.**

**-7- The "Black Moon" better known to mortals as the 'New Moon.'**

**-8- Kakashi, my friend. – This phrase remarks that Naruto sees Kakashi as more than just a sensei after what he did to protect him.**

**-9- Sasuke is remarking to how being taller makes it harder for you to conceal yourself, and makes you a larger target, He forgets to mention that height also gives you an advantage of intimidation over shorter opponents, makes it easier for you to overpower a shorter person by implying your weight, and extends your reach. Being shorter makes it easier for you to evade and hide, but also makes it harder to overpower a taller person, and to wield larger weapons in combat.**

**-10- Forgot to add this while I was writing… - Heavenly Sun Light- The name of the Sun God who bestowed his protection upon the mortals infected by the werewolves. **

**Final Take: **

**5,656 words.**

**12 pages. **

**26,171 characters excluding spaces.**

**31,892 characters including spaces.**

**113 paragraphs.**

**544 lines.**

**Alright, that ends Chapter 2 of ****Red Moon's Cry****! Do me a favor guys, drop a review! IF you can take the time to read this whole chapter, please take two minutes to write me a review! I don't care if it's simply a compliment, like, 'Good story!' 'Nice work.' Or something simple. If it's a flame, I'll try to answer you in the next chapter. And if anyone has a problem with my translations, feel free to PM me a different language translator. And if you decide to write out a long helpful review, expect thanks! And the offer for a OneShot on whatever topic you want still stands if you can guess the meaning of the phrase "Enki Shimasu Tsugi Kikan!" So, Enki Shimasu Tsugi Kikan! **_–Hint: Think of PHRASES that would fit there.- _


	3. Exam Reflections

Chapter 3: Exam Reflections

Pre-story A/N: I'm back with the third chapter of Red Moon's Cry! Consider yourself lucky! I was originally going to update Taijutsu Master, but the overly large amount of reviews (for me) convinced me to do a follow-up update! And congratulations to **LordTorg22** for correctly guessing Enki Shimasu Tsugi Kikan! It was 'Until Next Time!' LordTorg22, your OneShot will be posted once I receive your request and write it! And now, to quote Queen, 'The Show…Must… Go ON!" This chapter's musical influence… My whole library again. 

---Begin Chapter---

A long dusty road is the only one that leads up to the Eastern gate of Konoha. There is no other road connected to it for miles. Nothing interesting has ever happened along this road. No battles were fought, no enemies were slain, nothing. The road was a completely useless piece of dirt. It wasn't even worth protecting, due to the fact that no one ever used it, and Konoha was bordered by any Ninja villages to the East. So, being as how the road was completely empty, the guards never expected to see a genin squad, led by Hatake Kakashi no less, come traipsing up the road with some weird never before seen genin walking next to Kakashi. He kept his eyes closed, and his head turned towards the ground. His black streaked red hair gave him a somewhat menacing appearance. His outfit, made him look somewhat strange, due to the fact that it didn't exactly fit. But if he had been wearing a mask, they would have thought Kakashi had an illegitimate child. After seeing the group, the guards straightened themselves, and stood in what they hoped was an official looking pose. They waited till the group requested permission to enter Konoha.

"Quit wasting your, and our, time by trying to look like you were actually doing something useful. Just open the gate and let us in so we may report to the Hokage. And if you have nothing better to do than wonder whether or not I'm Kakashi's illegitimate love child, then find a new profession." The red haired youth hadn't even opened his eyes since they had seen him.

"And who are you to order us around you stupid brat! Just for that I think I'll keep this gate closed." The guard just smirked at his idea. They couldn't make him do anything! Could they?

"Ok, I'm sure Hokage-sama will be very pleased to hear that the guards refused to let in loyal Konoha shinobi, especially Hatake Kakashi. He'll be so happy in fact, I'll even convince him to let you retire. Ahead of…_ schedule._" The guard swallowed hard at that statement. He had no other way to make money, and he had a wife and three kids he was supporting. He meekly nodded and opened the gates. The boy and Kakashi walked through, Kakashi smiling that damnable smile the entire way…

---Scene Break---

A dark room with almost no lighting except for a small black wax candle with a barely burning wick on table. In this room there were two separate figures. More than acquaintances if you will. One sat their back facing the other occupant of the room.

"Are the preparations under way?"

"Yes they are. Dog is in position. Horse will be joining us soon quite soon. Canin won't come easily will he Piranha?"

"That he will not Squid. But with some convincing, he along with Horse won't be long in joining us. However, friction between the two could repel them. Make sure Dog does his part. Frog must not have any part in this. If he catches wind of this, he will do all he can to prevent us from our goal. He will also alert Deer to us. She would be quite troublesome to deal with at this point. Is there any word on Monkey's movement yet?"

"No sir, he's lying low at the moment. But he knows what to do once the situation arises. I have motive to suspect that he may turn to help Canin and Horse. If he does, I'll handle Canin. Dog will surely be more than enough to get Horse."

"Very good, very good. But remember if Deer shows up along with Frog, will we be in serious trouble. Keep Salamander where he is. His status is important to the completion of our plan. Also, Sun must catch no hint of this. Any interference would destroy our plan entirely. But the most troublesome interference would come from Cat and Tiger. If Cat became aware of Tiger or if she met up with Canin. Then the whole plan will be shot to hell."

"Yes… due to their past… meetings, their meeting COULD ruin it for us. I'll be off now to make sure all preparations are made correctly… If not… I'll need to persuade a few things from a few… select… individuals." With that the figure disappeared as a slight wind rippled through the wind extinguishing the candle.

---Scene Break---

Nine figures stood around a round table, candles highlighting their hoods. Their clothes were decorated by numerous red clouds.

"I'm sure you all know what to do. The guise of the Bijuu is working. The Elemental Countries are completely unaware as to what we are planning. Although, several important pieces have yet to be placed. Piranha will be attempting to delay us, and keep us out of his plans. He believes we will destroy his plan, but we must keep it intact, at least, for now. Now, we need all players in position. The pieces are lining up. The pawns must fight the rooks. The rooks must fight the knights. The knights must fight the bishops. The bishops must fight the queen. And the queen must fight the king, while the king defends his pawns. The plan will tie itself together when they least expect it…

---Scene Break---

The Sandaime Hokage sat in front of the group of Jounin waiting for their recommendations. Almost all of the second year or higher genin had been entered. Sandaime was about to end the meeting when someone spoke up.

"Excuse me Hokage-sama; aren't you going to ask if any of the rookie genin teams would like to enter the exams?"

"You know as well as I do Asuma, that no Jounin would willingly enter their genin in an exam that would potentially end their careers prematurely."

"Well then, I, Sarutobi Asuma, nominate Team 10 for the Chuunin Exams." This caused quite a ruckus. Rookies in the exam? They would all die! Before any of the others could interject someone else stepped forward.

"I, Yuuhi Kurenai, nominate Team 8 for the Chuunin Exams." Uproar began to form until Hatake Kakashi stepped forward. Everyone sighed. Maybe he would convince these Jounin what would happen if they entered their genin in the exams.

"I, Hatake Kakashi, nominate Team 7 for the Chuunin Exams." The room exploded. People were yelling and throwing things. It was uproar until the Hokage ordered silence.

"Excuse me Hokage-sama. I don't think these genin should be nominated for the exams! They were my students, and I don't believe they're ready for the exams! Maybe, Sasuke and Shino might stand a chance, but Naruto would be destroyed! He stands no chance in that exam!"

"Iruka-san, I beg to differ with your opinion. These genin are no longer students that you teach. They are soldiers of Konoha, who can, and will fight to prove their country's dignity and power. But they are not merely soldiers, they are fighters, they are dreamers, they are assassins, they are killers, they are mercenaries. But beyond all of that, they are shinobi, and, and they are children. We can't expect them to survive in this world where it's brother eat brother if we coddle them for a year before shoving them into actual combat. They'll have dealt with bandits and thugs, but can they compete with their equal or their superior? That's what we're here to find out. Do they know when to fight and when to run? Do they know who to kill and who to spare? No. They don't. This isn't merely a test Iruka; it's a rite of passage. If they can't learn these simple basics of shinobi life, then what can they learn?" Iruka was stunned. He hadn't heard Kakashi ever speak to someone like that.

"I… I never thought of it that way. Who would've thought, we thought we were protecting our youth, when we were actually crippling them mentally for the rest of their lives…" Everyone in the room nodded in agreement. The Hokage gave a wry grin. Looks like this year there would be some interesting competitors in the Chuunin Exams. He lifted a large wooden block before slamming it down on the official chuunin exam entry form.

---Scene Break---

Naruto was walking along when he heard Konohamaru yelling. Knowing he was in no actual danger, he turned a corner and came face to face with some guy in a cat suit holding Konohamaru and some blonde girl with a large fan strapped to her back. Naruto opened his eyes and stared at them. They seemed as though they might be of interest. He started to walk over and punched a board on the fence next to him. It flipped, and a loud thunk was heard as it slammed into something on the other side. On the other side of the fence, one Uchiha Sasuke collapsed on the ground unconscious. A fence board to the head does that to you.

Naruto approached the cat like man and stood a few feet in front of him not saying anything. The cat guy stared at him. Naruto stared back. The girl with the fan stared at him. He stared at the cat guy. The cat guy looked at fan girl. Fan girl looked at cat guy. They both turned to look at him.

"Put him down."

"Psh, why should I ya stupid brat? He ran into me and know he's gotta pay for what he did." The cat man was obviously testing Naruto's patience. Naruto just continued to stare at cat boy. The cat man started to sweat. Naruto's stare was quite unnerving.

"If you wish to maintain peace with Konoha I suggest that let the Hokage's grandson go. You wouldn't want to start a political incident after everyone hears how one of the Suna ninja attacked the grandson of the Third Hokage?" The cat boy dropped the boy fearing the political repercussions of not letting him go. The fan girl just stared at him a slightly annoyed look on her face. A slight noise attracted Naruto's attention. Standing on a tree branch was a red haired youth with a tattoo above his left eye. He had a large gourd strapped to his back, and the other two Suna Nin seemed to be afraid of him. Naruto raised an eyebrow staring at the new arrival to their little party.

"Kankurou. Cease your foolish actions of joytime or I will kill you." The cat like guy started to sweat yet not releasing the boy from his grasps.

"H-he started it Gaara! It was his entire fault, yeah! We were walking around when he saw us, attacked us and threatened us, so I started to-"

"Cease your drabbling lies! If you so much as smudge the name of Suna and our reputation I will personally take it upon myself to be the one to end your life! Now drop the boy. We are leaving." Kankurou shivered and released Konohamaru who rubbed his scalp attempting to cure it of its harsh treatment. Naruto watched impassively as the red-haired youth disappeared in a swirl of sand, re-appearing in the middle of the street, his back to him. Before he left he spoke once more.

"The blond one. What is your name?"

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. And what might yours be Coon-san?" the boy made no reaction to his nickname, which referred to the rings around his eyes.

"Sabaku no Gaara." He began to walk away.

"I look forward to seeing you in the Chuunin Exams, Coon-san."

"The feeling is mutual Uzumaki-san." Naruto merely grinned, his smile eerily resembling that of some sort of canine, specifically a fox… Naruto gave Konohamaru a small pat on his head before walking away muttering something incomprehensible to himself. But if one had listened very, _very_ closely, they may have heard something about how it was all coming together.

---Scene Break---

Haruno Sakura sat on her bed in her largely pink room. In front of her on her dresser was a small picture of one Uchiha Sasuke. Sasuke was the one and only reason she had become a kunoichi. She had wanted to impress the boy with her skill and hopefully win him over. But once she found out the things they were doing, Sakura started to wish she had never become a ninja. She didn't want to run somebody through with a kunai knife just because she was ordered to. She was brought up being taught that girls were supposed to be prim and proper and serve their husbands. This was largely why women did not become ninja. They were not taught the same as the men. But, despite this decidedly negative train of thought, Sakura assured herself that she would be fine. After all, her magnificent Sasuke-kun would protect her, right?

A voice called from down below Sakura's room. "Sakura honey! Dinner's almost ready, come down and set the table!" Sakura sighed and yelled back.

"Alright Mom!" Sakura took one last look at the picture. Sasuke would always be their, her knight in shining armor.

---Scene Break---

Uchiha Sasuke stood in large empty room large crimson areas staining the aged and graying wood of the floor. Every step he took creaked on the old wooden boards as they ground in protest under the strain. Sasuke ignored these noises as he ran through katas of the traditional Uchiha clan Taijutsu style. Kata after kata. He never ceased his movements. Every kata he performed, no matter how good it was, to him, it was inherently flawed. A twitch of a hand, a bat of an eye, a slight twisting of his foot. They were exaggerated within his own consciousness. He relentlessly repeated the movements, working himself to exhaustion. The more times he repeated it, the more exhausted he became. The more exhausted he became. The more exhausted he became, the more mistakes he made. The more mistakes he made the more he repeated it. This eventually led to him collapsing form exhaustion on the floor. He lay there panting. He slowly rolled himself onto his back.

Sasuke stared at the ceiling. The blood glaring back at him. The hatred of his clan, their despise, all because of… Sasuke shook his head to clear the thoughts from his head. The things Itachi claimed to be true couldn't be. There was absolutely no way. They didn't match. It was inherently impossible. But if it was in some cruel twist of fate, true, Sasuke had performed a deed a greater then treason against one's own village. Sasuke would have assisted in the death of one of the Clan's most important members. Sasuke clenched his eyes shut, hot tears rolling down his face. He had never thought Itachi's words may have held even the smallest grain of truth in the desert of lies he was told. Yet, Sasuke couldn't shake the feeling that he HAD caused it… That he WAS responsible for the most treasonous act to ever occur in the Uchiha Clan.

---Scene Break---

Naruto lay on the ground in a state similar to that of Sasuke. Except in front of him was a large and very thick training log. This whole area was filled with them. It was apparently where they stored unused training logs. Now, the log was not in exactly good condition. The log contained a large gaping pit in its side. There were splinters of wood littered around it and several shards still stuck out. Blood was also spattered on the wood. Naruto's knuckles contained crimson shards of wood, stained red by his blood. His knuckles were a blood mess. His bones could clearly bee seen through even through the thick amount of blood and wood. Naruto groaned as he started plucking out wood shards. The job was painful and time consuming, but allowed him to heal faster. As Naruto plucked the last splinter that was lodged in his joint from free form his hand, he could already see the wound begin to close. Naruto turned to the log and stared at it. Hanging his arms useless at his sides, Naruto launched himself fiercely into attacking the log with a flurry of kicks. His arms swung like pendulums with the momentum of his body. Naruto flung one particularly hard and furious kick at what remained of the decimated log. His foot ripped through it scratching his leg and tearing the pants of his already ratty jumpsuit. He sighed as he gingerly set his foot back down on the ground. He walked off to the side of the training field, and rolled out an ever larger and thicker piece of aged wood. He rolled it out to the previous log's position before standing it upright. He examined his hands, checking for signs of any damage. Seeing none, he launched into another attack on the log. Only this time, it wasn't for training purposes.

Naruto struck the log with anger and fury. He struck the log with hatred and pain. He struck the log with all the pain he had suffered concentrated into every punch. Each punch was ripping chunks and ships form the log's surface. Naruto's hands quickly became bloody and pained, but he pushed on, the wood sticking in his exposed flesh and muscle. In one final movement, Naruto smashed his fist clear through the log, leaving his limb trapped within its clutches. Naruto used his other arm to pry his hand from the log and flexed it seeing no external damage. Naruto then glanced at the remains of many training logs. Having fully relieved his anger Naruto picked up several long strips of bandages from the grounds before walking away, slowly wrapping hid forearms and hands in the bandages.

---Scene Break---

In the old Ninja Academy only one light was still on at such a late hour. The teacher still there was none other than one Umino Iruka. He sat at his old wooden desk, grading papers and reviewing his newest batch of students' files. Iruka was decidedly nervous and was only here because working calmed him. It drove away dark memories. He felt he really needed this as the next day was the start of the Chuunin Advancement Examinations. His latest batch of Genin was going to be entering. Iruka didn't know if he would handle it if one of them was to die while taking the Exam. Iruka had seen too many of his comrades die. He glanced down at a slightly open drawer that he always kept locked. Iruka bent down to check it.

"Hello. What happened here?" Iruka opened the drawer and his breath caught at what was in the drawer. Even though he had placed it there himself, it still drew up bad memories no matter how many times he saw it. Iruka drew out the object and looked at it. It was a mask resembling an animal. A relic. "My old ANBU mask…" Iruka looked forlornly at it. This mask held too many memories. All of them bad. Iruka placed the mask back in the drawer and locked it again. He packed up his things and left. He no longer had any interest in doing his work.

---End Chapter---

A/N: This chapter was much shorter than I originally intended. I'll be again shooting for 5000 words or more next chapter. I just felt this chapter shouldn't be taken any farther than it is already. It was going to extend into the Chuunin Exams but I felt this was a good place to stop. The importance behind Iruka's ANBU mask will probably come into play in the next chapter or two. It will have a very large impact on the story and its progression. So, stay tuned for the next chapter of Red Moon's Cry! The next thing I will be posting will be LordTorg22's requested OneShot which I have decidedly titled Kurai Kanagae meaning Dark Thoughts. Sorry it took so long to get your OneShot up Torg! But have no fear it will be up soon! So once again everyone, Enki Shimasu Tsugi Kikan!


	4. Black Wolf's Blood

Chapter 4: Black Wolf's Blood

**Chapter 4: Black Wolf's Blood **

A/N: Starting this April 14, 2008. Hoping it'll be finished soon. It may take a while since I'm aiming for 5K+ words. Also, check out Falsifying by These Hands. It's, in my opinion, one of my best stories to date. Although some Red Moon's Cry fans may disagree with that. Although, it has an M rating for chapter two for a reason.

-- Start --

A throng of patrons gathered around a door marked 301 in the small academy hallway. Two boys stood in front of the door knocking back anyone who came too close, deeming them "unfit," to participate in the Chuunin. Their most recent victim was a girl with her hair tied in two buns wearing a pink Chinese Gi. Another team joined in the throng. The first was a pink haired girl who had an air of naivety about her. The second was a raven haired boy whose posture suggested a life of cruel pain and that he was better than everyone around him. The last member was a peculiarity. His red hair fell like streaks of fire graced by the presence of sneaking shadows within it. His eyes, a dark forest green, stared with such intensity; one would flinch under his gaze without so much as even a gasp. He was the only one from his team that differed by his wearing of a long black cloak that had a hood attached to the top. They slowly proceeded to walk into the room as some boy in spandex began yelling at one of the boys guarding the door.

It occurred in the span of an instant. Sasuke threw a kick towards the boy guarding while the boy had thrown his fist back in retaliation. The green spandex clad boy had stopped both of their attacks with his bare hands. As Naruto watched the slit pupils of forest green eyes shrank to almost nil while he began to breathe heavier. He grasped his right arm in pain and gritted his teeth as he was wracked by a sharp pain. His pink-haired teammate ignored him entirely, instead opting to ogle their third teammate; the ever stoic Uchiha. Naruto slowly stood still slightly gripping his arm, unaware that his actions had warranted the investigation of another pair of eyes...

Sasuke huffed and slowly began to walk away, intending to hold his pride together as much as he could. He was stopped by another boy whose eyes mirrored the moon. He didn't make so much as a friendly gesture before proceeding with interrogating the stoic Uchiha boy.

"You... You're a rookie, aren't you?" The pale eyed boy's frown ever present on his face.

"It's customary to give your own name before asking the same of another." Sasuke answered in a condescending tone. The other boy simply sneered at him before walking away. The girl wearing the pink Gi followed him away leaving behind the green spandex boy. He was grinning widely at Sasuke.

"Uchiha Sasuke. My name is Rock Lee. I am the strongest genin of my year, and I wish to see how my skills compare to the acclaimed most powerful doujutsu in Konoha, The Sharingan!" Sasuke eyed him carefully before smirking in his oh so smug way, as if this simple recognition of a given ability granted him total control over the individual who had made reference to it. Sasuke mindlessly followed Lee without giving any thought to how he was to combat this foe.

Needless to say, Sasuke was having his ass royally whooped. He had gone into this fight with the thought that his Sharingan would be his greatest asset. He thought that he would be able to use it to copy whatever the Green Freak was doing. Boy was he wrong. Lee's skills depended entirely on physical movements and actions. In other words, Taijutsu. Sasuke could still see what was going to happen slightly ahead of time, but his body was too slow to react. He had spent too much time only training jutsu and not training his body. And now he was suffering for it.

Sakura stood next to her teammate and watched as Sasuke was almost literally destroyed. He was being beat around like a rag doll that was held by an insanely obsessive and overly violent young child with a grudge against all things rag and doll. Sakura gasped as Sasuke's Sharingan aided him only in increasing his distress at the situation.

"What... what kind of jutsu is he using? How is Sasuke's Sharingan not able to see it! Something's not right about that green kid. He's... he's not normal!" Sakura was nearly shrieking with near hysteria at the thought that her indomitable hero had a flaw.

"That isn't a mere jutsu Sakura. Lee is moving too fast for Sasuke to respond. Sasuke knows when and how Lee is going to attack, but he is too slow to block it. It's like racing against a cheetah. You know the path, you know the cheetah too, and you know exactly what it's going to do. But even armed with this knowledge, the cheetah simply outstrips you in terms of raw speed. Sasuke is able to follow Lee's motions since he has the Sharingan, but his body is still far too weak to respond in time." Naruto ended his long explanation still watching the two combatants.

"But... how he is he so much faster? He's only a year older then we are, and yet Lee's skill in Taijutsu far outdoes our own..."

"That Sakura, is Lee's pride. Lee prides himself on his Taijutsu and his ability to perform it to an extent almost beyond those who aren't Taijutsu Masters. His Taijutsu is equivalent of what Sasuke is to you. His life. His passion. It is the thing that if taken away from him, would cripple him beyond compare. Take away Lee's Taijutsu, and you take away in essence, Lee himself. We all have something like that. For you it's Sasuke. For Sasuke it's most likely his Sharingan. For Lee, it's his Taijutsu."

Sakura stared at Naruto with something almost akin to compassion. But then she noticed something. Naruto had neglected to mention that which HE held most dear. "But Naruto, you never mentioned what it was YOU had that you held in such high regard. My guess would be, ramen maybe?" Sakura giggled a bit but stopped when she noticed Naruto's face had become dark and sullen.

"I didn't name anything of my own Sakura, because... I've already lost it. But if I had a second one, the closest thing would be my friends." Naruto closed his eyes and turned away. Sakura regretted asking him. She turned back to the battle before noticing that Sasuke was standing up, and Lee was being berated by... a _turtle_? The turtle's rang out for a brief moment before a large cloud of smoke formed.

"Here comes... GAI-SENSEI!" A larger version of Lee still clothed in the offending Green Spandex appeared on top of the Turtle, his arm extended in a thumbs up, and his teeth sparkling like headlights. Sasuke horrified gaze was evident on his face.

_"I lost to a guy taught by THIS freak?"_ The newly named Gai stood berating Lee for his actions, mentioning something about a powerful move not meant to be used except in incredibly dangerous situations. Sasuke made a decision that day at that very moment. No matter how strong a move would make him, no matter how power it granted him, he would never become that weird. Sasuke sulked back over to where his teammates were standing. The group proceeded to slowly try and slink away to the exam room. Naruto held back.

"Go on ahead without me guys. I'll catch up with you in just a moment." Sasuke, glad to be rid of the dobe, started once again for the exam room, his faithful "companion," only a step behind.

Sasuke and Sakura approached the exam room and found Kakashi waiting there reading his little orange sin. He looked disappointed at only the two of them showing up. He sighed and put his book away. He would need to have a talk with them about teamwork.

"Ah, Sasuke, Sakura. Glad to see you came." Kakashi gave them a slight upturned eye along with the comment. "But I'm afraid I cannot allow you to participate in the Chuunin Exams." Sasuke and Sakura were both outraged at that. Well, Sakura was more outraged because Sasuke was outraged more than anything.

"Are you kidding!? Because this isn't even close to funny! You tell us to come here, and then spring this, 'oh-so-hilarious' prank on us?!" Sasuke was almost ready to attack his sensei. Kakashi held up his arms and asked them to calm down.

"Now, now. I told you that it was a personal choice of coming or not, however, you require a full team of 3 people to enter. I told you that so you wouldn't attempt to force your teammates to come. If I had said all three of you had to come, you would have surely forced Naruto to come. But, since he's not here, I'm afraid you'll just have to wait 6 months and try again in the next Chuunin Exam." Kakashi could sense his students anger and felt that they were about to go find Naruto, and end his life. He was just about to make an attempt to calm them down when a figure in a black cloak turned around his red hair gently leaning to the side in a small cross breeze. He looked at Kakashi, then at Sasuke and Sakura before speaking.

"Sorry that took so long. I was just catching up with someone." Sasuke and Sakura still looked they wanted to beat the hell out of him until Kakashi cut in attempting to improve the degraded atmosphere.

"Well, since your third teammate is here, you're eligible to enter the Chuunin Exams! So, give it your best shot, and try not to die too much!" Kakashi then poofed out of their way. Sasuke and Sakura were giving weird looks to the spot where he had just been standing before Naruto spoke.

"How are we supposed to die more than more than once? Maa, dumb Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke and Sakura ignored him and walked into the room, just in time to see a white haired boy who had appeared to be talking to the rest of the Rookie Nine collapse and vomit on the floor. Naruto's eyebrows merely raised themselves a fraction. He hadn't seen the white haired boy attacked, nor was anyone in a position to strike him in any such way. Before he was allowed to ponder this subject anymore, a large cloud of smoke formed at the front of the room and a man in a black trench coat, his face covered in scars. A line of chuunin stood behind him. The man began rambling something about a test. Naruto barely listened to what he was saying, just gathering the gist of the situation. They needed to answer questions and couldn't be caught cheating. Naruto walked to his seat watching the chuunin proctors. Each one held a clipboard with the test answers written on it.

Naruto sat down in his seat. Looking to his right he noticed the girl next to him in the large coat. She had long purple hair and pale white eyes. Just like the guy who had stopped Sasuke. Naruto finally recognized her as Hinata; the strange girl from his academy class. He attempted to remember her last name. Hyoopa? Haägen Daas? Huyago? Hyuuga? That was it, Hyuuga. Hyuuga Hinata. She kept throwing glances in his direction. Naruto recognized them as the same type of glance Sakura would throw to Sasuke. Naruto sneered to himself. Hinata was a closet fan girl. Naruto eventually decided on ignoring her. He read over the questions, answering the few that he could think of. Obviously, they needed to cheat. Naruto spent a few minutes thinking before he had a reasonable idea.

--Break--

Kankurou raised his hand asking to be allowed to go to the restroom. Ibiki allowed him. He easily saw through the puppet's disguise. A Genin's idea couldn't fool an experienced Jounin very easily. He turned back to watching the rest of the students. Some of them seemed incredibly panicked. Those who had visual bloodlines, or various clan abilities making it easier to cheat didn't seem to be worried. One boy in particular, the red head with green eyes, (Wow, Naruto sounds alot like Gaara don't he?) was leaning back in his chair lazily. Ibiki had no idea what he had done, but it had obviously been pretty damn good.

Kankurou walked down the hall snickering about how great his plan was working. He turned the corner and stopped. A Chuunin was bound, gagged, and blindfolded, lying on the floor in front of him. He was attempting to yell something at Kankurou as he walked by. Kankurou just stared at him before walking by faster then before, slightly disturbed.

--Break--

Naruto watched one of the proctors, part of the ninth question unanswered. The chuunin blinked several times in rapid succession, sometimes with very slight pauses in between. Naruto wrote down another word. He turned back to the proctor as inconspicuously as possible. The chuunin repeatedly blinked again, and Naruto wrote down another word. Ibiki watched the exchange. He had no doubt the boy had done something to the proctor. But he still didn't quite know what he was doing. He watched closely. He saw no standard ninja code in the blinks. He blinked again, and then it hit him. Morse Code. The chuunin was signaling the answers to the boy one word at a time through Morse code using blinks. Clever. But that still left the question of why the proctor was communicating with the boy. Then he saw it. The chuunin's body shifted. Not alot, and not just simply moving. His body had just about _teleported_. His position shifted without any movement.

_'A kawarimi... What is this boy hiding? Successfully using a Kage Bunshin to kawarimi with a chuunin proctor. That should be beyond any Genin's skill level. This, Uzumaki Naruto, is certainly one to watch.'_

Kankurou walked back into the room. Ibiki made no comment on his puppets, too engrossed in thinking about Naruto. Kankurou smirked, thinking of how great his technique was to have fooled a Special Jounin. (-Sigh-, yes, I'm going to have to explain my views of the ranking system at the end of this chapter.) Kankurou took his seat as Ibiki explained the final question.

"This is the final question of your first exam. Before we begin, you must first decide whether or not you wish to take the question." A girl with four blond pigtails stood up and started yelling.

"Well if that's it, why wouldn't we choose to take it?" Ibiki stared at the girl for a moment before answering.

"Because, if you do choose to take the question, and you answer it wrong, you will forever be barred from participating in the Chuunin Exams. In essence if you fail the question, you will lose the ability to be promoted to Chuunin. If you wish not to take the question, raise your hand now. You and your entire team will be failed, but you are guaranteed the right to be able to be promoted to Chuunin. (It had to be worded like that, because if an international incident or something similar popped up, it would create a messed up political loophole of pain.)" A multitude of students began raising their hands, and were escorted form the room by a proctor. Naruto just stared at Ibiki a moment before speaking.

"So?"

"What do you mean, 'so?' boy. Is that meant as a form of challenge or as a question? Because if it's a question, I can answer you now. I mean, you will be unable to be promoted to the next rank through Chuunin Examinations. You will be stuck as a Genin forever."

"You mean until the next war." Ibiki's eyes widened slightly at that. This boy wasn't talking in if's and maybe's, he was talking in definite facts. He seems to have a grasp on the fact that it's almost inevitable that another war will arise. Maybe not a Great War, but a war none the less. Ibiki regained his composure before talking again.

"And what exactly could you mean by that?"

"During times of war or strife, a village reserves its right to promote any ninja of their village to any rank they choose, due to prowess on the field, or service, or any other number of reasons. Basically, war throws your whole never get to be Chuunin statement out the window." Ibiki blinked. He had not expected a Genin to know about the Shinobi Promotion Act. Ibiki turned back to the group of students, and they stared back. Most of them were mentally smacking themselves. Of course Ibiki couldn't prohibit them from promotion. He was only ad administer of an exam. He had no way to control whether or not they participated in a Chuunin Exam at a later date. Ibiki sighed, knowing his psychological tactics were shot, turned and spoke to the Genin.

"Congratulations on passing the first exam!"

The same blonde haired girl from before stood up. "Are you kidding me? That's it? What about the tenth question! And all that crap about promotion! Was that just a load of bull? Did any of it even mean anything!" Ibiki spoke slowly and gravely.

"The question of whether or not to take the tenth question was in essence, the question itself. You see, when you're a ninja, you must face life altering decisions. Do you leave your best friend to die bleeding on the ground, or return the intelligence you've gathered to your village? Do you accept a mission just because you're told to, or do you simply say you don't feel like it? A Shinobi's first priority is always to that of their leader. Shinobi are trained to never give in even under the direst of circumstances." Ibiki removed his headband revealing a bald head marked by a multitude of different types of scars, ranging from burns to metal bolts driven into his skull. "As a Chuunin you assume the role of squad commander. A chuunin must assume all responsibility for his teammates. Could you handle being responsible for the deaths of an entire squad?" The whole room was deathly quiet. Suddenly the window exploded in a shower of glass and some women in a skirt and a long tan trench coat wearing a multitude of fishnet had rolled in front of the room, a large sign behind her reading, "The beautiful Kunoichi and Your Second Examiner, Mitarashi Anko!" People were still trying to figure out how she got all that writing on there and while still making it easily visible to everyone. Ibiki just turned lazily to her.

"Anko. You're early. Again."

"Ah who gives a shit! Let's see you left me... 72? 24 teams? Ibiki, you're not losing your touch at this thing are you?" Ibiki just grinned back at the sadistic woman.

"There are quite a few exceptional teams this year as you'll soon see."

"Ah, who cares! I'll cut their numbers in half by the end of the next exam! Alright you little asswipes! Follow me to Training Ground 44!" With that, Anko marched out of the room, a herd of Genin tailing behind her. Ibiki chuckled as he left. He walked over to where Naruto sat and picked up his test. All his answers were right. Ibiki smiled to himself. That boy may actually have a future.

--Break--

The large group of prospective Genin stood in front of a large forest. An incredibly tall mesh wire gate surrounded the entire area. The whole area had an area of approximately 3.14 square kilometers. There were 44 different entrances to the forest, each one barred by 2 large mesh doors. Anko stood in front of the genin before giving out her announcement.

"Alright then. This is your Second Exam. Each team will be given a Heaven or Earth scroll. To complete this test you must reach the tower with both scrolls before 120 hours, or exactly 5 days, from the time the gates open. There are no rules within the forest. You are allowed to trick, trap, maul, maim, or kill if it suits your purpose. There is only one directive that must be followed no matter what. Under no circumstances whatsoever, are you allowed to open either of the scrolls before you reach the tower. Now, you are only allowed to take into the forest what you currently have on you. At no point during the 5 days are you allowed to leave the forest either. Any teams remaining in the forest after the 5 day period will be retrieved by an ANBU team and allowed to return home. Do not attempt to leave the Training Ground either. These gates are equipped with chakra sensors. Any chakra signal attempting to or succeeding in crossing over or through the gate will initiate an ANBU squad alert. So, good luck to you all, and try not to die." Anko gave that creepy smile before walking off, leaving the kids to receive to their scrolls from the Chuunin Proctors.

Naruto's team lined up at their gate, a Heaven scroll residing in Sasuke's kunai pouch. A loud bell began to clang as the gates opened signaling the official start of the Second Part of the Chuunin Exam. The different teams sped off into the forest attempting to obtain prime hunting grounds before another team claimed them. Naruto's team ran at a slightly slow pace as to not be too noticeable. They came to rest in a small clearing. Sasuke turned towards his teammates.

"We need a passcode in case one of is separated." Sakura was ogling Sasuke like he had just discovered the cure for cancer and the common cold. Naruto merely chose to respond.

"I agree. In an exam area such as this, it would not be beneficial to be separated with no way of identifying false teammates. Does anyone have any ideas on the passcode?"

Sasuke, being the arrogant ass he was, gave his suggestion, his cocky smirk ever present. "Sharingan Uchiha."

"Typical of you Sasuke. You don't think any other teams would guess that? We have an Uchiha on our team who has the Sharingan. Think of something better next time." Sakura posed her suggestion next.

"Sasuke is amazing?"

"That's even worse. Am I the only one among us who has any brain processing power?" His only responses were an empty stare and a fiery burning glare. "Fine. How about, 'In the shadows lurks a stranger, but he is not to fear, for his knife is not poised such as that of your friend beside you.' Now, I won't repeat it. So make sure you know it. Or I will not hesitate to kill you unless you are able to offer irrefutable proof you are who you say you are."

Sasuke was fuming mad. First, the dobe rejects his idea. Second, he insulted his awesomeness when he rejected Sakura's idea. And lastly, he had insulted his skills as a fighter, and an Uchiha. "And if you leave and come back and don't provide proof, I will kill you." Sasuke spoke with his still ever-present smirk. Naruto looked at Sasuke his hand itching to reach into his kunai pouch and insert its contents into Sasuke's skull.

"Remember this, and remember it well Uchiha. If you attempt to kill me, I will not hesitate to end your life. It is not a good idea to fuck with Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto's eyes of forest green bore into Sasuke's. His gaze was the unflinching stare of a predator. Like that of a Wolf's...

Sasuke was first to glance away from the other's gaze. He growled to himself. No one made fun of Uchiha Sasuke. That dobe would pay one way or another. "We need to get moving. We have wasted far too much time discussing this." With that Naruto leaped into the trees his teammates following behind him. Sakura's face was one of worry and concern with a slight tinge of fear mixed into the palette. She was worried about Sasuke as he seemed to be getting shorter and shorter with Naruto. Concern because of the death threats they threw around like kunai, and fear, because Naruto actually seemed to mean what he said...

--Break--

Naruto gritted his teeth as he squinted. His black cloak was billowing out behind him fluttering like a dove caught in a gale. His claws gripped the thick soil as a lifeline. Even with his best attempts of stability, Naruto was still slowly being pushed backwards by the large gust of wind that had blown through the area that Naruto and his team had decided to camp in. Sakura had immediately been blown off. Sasuke was able to stick to the ground for a few precious seconds with chakra, before he pulled out two kunai and dug them into the ground. Although fighting with his best efforts, Sasuke's hands were torn from their grip as he too was blown away.

As the wind finally slowed Naruto slowly stood straightening his cloak. A feminine Grass Nin walked into the clearing a disturbingly sickening smile adorning their face. Naruto's wolf instincts went insane. He could almost literally feel the chakra rolling off of the Grass Nin. Naruto was absurdly strong for an average Genin, partially due to his werewolf blood, but there was no way, even with his wolf blood, that he could defeat this shinobi. He had a small chance of escaping without serious injury if he used the Kyuubi's chakra, but that was a last resort. The Grass Nin looked at him standing alone before frowning slightly.

"Such a pity. Only one member of the team was strong enough to resist my Fuuton: Akikazeiki (Fall Wind Breath. I was unsure of the technique he uses in the manga so I made my own). I was hoping the Uchiha would be able to resist, but I guess you will have to do. It's such a pity that the Uzumaki is no longer on Sasuke's team..." Naruto decided then and there that there was no way in hell he was telling this man who he was. "Alright boy, it's time to... ODORIMASU (Dance)." The figure launched towards Naruto at speeds surpassing anything Naruto had ever seen. Before he could react, a fist connected with his abdomen, sending him into a tree several meters behind him. Naruto stood before facing his opponent. It was gonna take some helluva strategy to beat this guy...

Naruto reached into his pouch and drew six kunai. Naruto leaped off the ground pumping chakra to his legs in an attempt to increase his speed. The man merely watched as Naruto approached, bringing up an arm to block, almost lazily. As he attempted to block Naruto lashed out with his right arm. Clutching three of the kunai between his fingers. The man look slightly startles as the kunai gashed against his forearm. Naruto lashed out with left arm leaving a small cut across the adversary's cheek. The man's eyes widened. A Genin shouldn't have been able to attack with such ferocity and speed. He leaped backwards before forming several seals.

"Katon: Hebi Taru Taihoo no jutsu! (Fire Style: Snake Barrel Cannon)" He inhaled deeply before firing several large snakes towards the boy. The snakes were curled into round spheres, and hurtled through the air burning with fire. Naruto leaped out of the way of the three fiery rounds before landing. He had to try and figure out a way around this. Before he had a real chance to think, something clamped onto his arm. Looking down one of the snakes that had previously been hurtling through the air had not died upon impact. It had instead uncurled before launching itself towards Naruto. Naruto sliced the snake's head into several pieces before checking back where his opponent had previously been. He was no longer there. Neither was there any indication of his whereabouts.

"You really need to keep a better eye on your opponents you know." Naruto stiffened as a voice hissed into his ear. He was sent forward by a kick to his spine. He stood up, wobbling slightly. He attributed it to the kick he had received. The man charge for him once again. He steadied himself and attempted to form some type of block. He lashed out with a punch, as the man slinked just to the left of the attack. He received a powerful punch to his midsection as he turned to try and lessen the blow. His opponent, seemingly caught unaware by his attempted dodge, stumbled forward. Naruto slashed him full force across his back, his kunai raking through his vertebrae, effectively disabling his spinal cord. Then, the man dissolved into a useless heap of mud.

_"Damn! A Doro Bunshin!'_ Naruto franticly scanned his surroundings for any sign of the disturbing man. He spun around as he felt the man approach. He crossed his arms before throwing the kunai at the advancing figure. The man seemingly effortlessly dodged the kunai. Naruto placed his arms in front of him in a position ready to either block or attack. It left few openings, but none were near his head or chest area. The man suddenly ducked down. Naruto prepared to jump, but the man suddenly came back up, inside of Naruto's guard. His eyes widened. Who was this man? The man grinned as his forehead slammed into Naruto's face effectively launching him backwards several meters. Naruto slowly staggered to his feet. He tore off his cloak and threw it to the ground. It was time he got serious.

The man giggled. This Genin was turning out to be truly interesting! Sasuke hadn't even made it back yet. Perhaps he had overestimated the boy... He giggled again before feeling several wires wrap around his body. He looked up to see the boy finish several hand seals. "Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu! (Grand Fireball)" The large ball of fire flew down the wire entrapping the man, before engulfing him in a white blaze.

Naruto panted. He had finally got the strangely powerful Genin. It didn't matter how strong he was. He was still a Genin, and no Genin could have deflected a Goukakyuu of that strength. Suddenly the man stepped out of the fire, his face melting off like plastic. Naruto's eyes widened as his breath became shaky. This man was definitely not a normal Genin. The man reached up to grip the top of his 'face.'

"Ku ku ku. I congratulate you Young Genin. If I was anyone else, you may have finished me with that attack. But things being how they are, you are in a most unfortunate position." The man pulled his face off completely, revealing two golden snake like eyes. Naruto's mind went haywire with only one thought running through his head.

_'SHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHITMOTHERFUCKINGSNAKESANNINOHSHITTYSHITSHITTERSSHIT!' _Naruto nearly passed out from fear. This way the legendary Snake Sannin, Orochimaru. Naruto's vision split into multiples and he fell to his knees gasping for air. Orochimaru merely chuckled.

"It appears my snake's venom is finally taking effect. You seem resilient, so you may survive. And if you do, take this." Orochimaru calmly walked close enough to Naruto to pick him up. He hoisted him into the air using only one hand. Naruto could only barely focus. The last thing he saw was Orochimaru's fangs burying themselves into his neck. After that, Naruto succumbed to the snake venom and the taint of the Curse Seal forming on his neck...

Sasuke and Sakura eventually found their way back to where Naruto was laying. There was hardly any evidence of a fight. The most evidence they could gather was several pieces of a snake, some burned ninja wire, and several loose kunai. They eventually decided to form a camp in the hollow of a large tree. Sakura and Sasuke sat pondering what had happened to their teammate and the strange Genin that had blown them away. But through all of their pondering, and all of Naruto's blood, sweat, and tears, neither of them noticed the image of a Fox head crossed by a snake and a weasel forming on Naruto's shoulder...

--End--

Finished on May 1st 2008. Wow. I think that's the fastest I've ever put out a chapter that I was proud of. The next update is for **Taijutsu Master Naruto**. I received a review for it that sparked my desire to write it. It'll take a while before it gets down to the nitty gritty action plot moving chapters this story is currently undertaking. But enough of that. This chapter is finished! The plot thickens with the introduction of Orochimaru and the Cursed Seal. The design should be fairly familiar to those who've read Chapter 2 I believe it was. But anyways, this chapter ended more prematurely then I expected. I was thinking of carrying it through to the Preliminary Rounds of the Third Exam, but stopping at five thousand worked out fine and gave me a place to put a slight cliff hanger. Anyways, Enki Shimasu Tsugi Kikan!


	5. Exam Preliminaries

Chapter 5: Preliminaries: Clan Rivalry

**Chapter 5: Exam Preliminaries**

A/N: Well here I am once again. Don't worry about that OneShot and new story I promised, they're on their and working. The OneShot requires a lot of inspiration to write while the new story requires that I describe a lot of history. While neither is very hard, both are very hard to come by. Inspiration is somewhat lacking and the history must be created bit by bit. So, please be patient. The OneShot is already nearing 10,000 words. This chapter is to help me as much as it is to assuage you.

--Start--

Sakura and Sasuke barely paid any attention to the prone form of their third teammate. Both had deemed him inconsequential. But, they were getting weird vibes from the mark on his neck. Neither one really cared what happened to him. Well, Sasuke wanted him to live purely for the purpose of needing him to advance to the next part of the exam. Sakura, being the devoted loyal follower, was cursing Naruto at this moment for the possibility that he may die. Now, this wasn't a sad, don't die on me now, like one might find if their best friend was dying, oh no. This was pure hatred directed at a dying man. Sakura was cursing him for possibly ruining Sasuke's chances of passing this test and becoming a Chuunin. So, while Naruto was lying there in the hollow of a large tree, with two teammates cursing him, three Sound Genin were discussing them and their predicament.

"Can you believe them? Treating their teammate like that?" Zaku was disgusted by the action of the two ninja as they made no attempt to even help their third fallen teammate. His appearance was that of one who might have been poisoned or suffering serious illness, yet all they cared about was this test.

"We are taught to be ruthless killers Zaku. We are not to have any sentimental attachments to any of our teammates. They are just following their duty as a shinobi." Dosu, the one wearing a large fur covered object on his back, his face covered in bandages told the first boy.

"We are Dosu, we are. But, even at Sound we don't treat our comrades like that! I'm not saying they should date the guy, but, hell, just show him some proper respect! We from Sound would never leave behind an ally, no matter what their state." Dosu sighed.

"You're right Zaku. He doesn't deserve to be treated like that. But what can we do? We are of the Sound and that boy is from Konoha. Besides, our mission is to kill Uchiha Sasuke and anyone who stands in our way. What if the boy attempts to challenge us?"

"He'll be passed out for the entire fight. I can make sure of that. All you have to do is make sure Sasuke dies." Dosu sighed. He couldn't think of any way to keep the boy unconscious for an entire fight with the exception of intense injury. He was about to move to attack the team when their third teammate's arm stopped him.

"Wait!" The two boys looked at the female of their team, Kin. She was staring at the boy on the ground, studying him.

"Oh, don't tell me. Kin has the hots for some guy from Konoha?" Zaku chuckled as Dosu gave a near invisible smile.

"Shut it Zaku. It's not like that at all, look. Look at his neck. What do you see?" Zaku looked over at the boy for a few seconds before answering.

"Nothing. He's perfectly normal."

"Look again dumbass!" Kin grabbed him by the hair and shoved his face forward. Zaku squinted for a few seconds trying to see what it was he was looking for. His eyes widened as the boy turned to the side revealing a large black spot on the back of his neck.

"A-a-a a Curse Seal!? But that means Orochimaru has already been here! And he wants us to kill the Uchiha. What could Orochimaru be thinking?" Zaku was pondering his Kage's intentions. Dosu moved his arm revealing a strange hollow piece of metal attached to his arm with several holes peppering the top of it.

"Orochimaru wants this boy with the Curse Seal to join him obviously. But what better way to make him join the Sound then by destroying their feeble team spirit? With the loss of their Uchiha, Konoha will be too caught up in mourning to notice one Genin, Chuunin hopeful, slip through their defenses." Kin nodded. Dosu's idea made perfect sense. She drew several senbon needles as she and Zaku prepared their first assault.

--Several Minutes Earlier--

(A/N: This is where my Chuunin Exam timeline goes completely AU. So, this is a fair warning.)

A green spandex clad boy sat in several large trees, his teammates nearby. They had noticed the Rookie Team 7 down below them, but none of them thought much of any of them. Neji just plain didn't care, and Tenten had no connection with them.

"But Youthful teammates! They are also our comrades from Konoha and they appear to be in trouble! Would it not be in our youthful interests to go assist them?" Lee however, was another story.

"No Lee. This is an exam to prove who is worthy of the title of Chuunin. If a team cannot make it through an area as easy as this forest they deserve no help from us." Neji's position was firm. Lee's spirit was crushed by Neji's flat out disapproval of helping a comrade. Tenten made no objections to Neji's statement. Lee knew that Tenten had a crush on Neji as often happened with teams, but, he never thought that she might become a liability. When a single vote turned the tide, a blind follower was the worst enemy you could face. Lee sighed as he and his teammates left leaving the other Konoha ninja behind.

--Team 10--

Ino dragged Shikamaru and Chouji behind her as they walked through the forest. They looked into a clearing and noticed Sasuke's team sitting there. Ino, having taken unofficial leadership position of their team, marched forward. Sasuke was in no trouble and therefore they were needed elsewhere.

--Present--

Sasuke was nearly asleep. He couldn't take it. Both he and Sakura had been watching forgetting an essential rule of Shinobi survival. One pair of eyes is good as two if the second pair is resting. It was invaluable to have rested ninja ready for combat. Having not slept, both of them were nearing exhaustion. Sasuke leaned forwards his head bobbing on his chest a gust of wind slicing past where his head had just been. His head shot up, noticing the gouge in the tree behind him. He turned around and was faced with three Genin. Each one wore a hitai-ate emblazoned with a musical note. Sasuke's eyes widened in realization. These were the Sound genin from the First Exam. The ones who injured that Kabuto fellow without so much as touching the guy.

Sasuke was immediately on guard as the one carrying the large fur on his back approached him. (A/N I am actually going to reveal what is under the fur on Dosu's back. At least, what's under it in this Timeline.) Sasuke was prepared for a fist fight before the boy stopped several yards in front as the spiky haired boy approached Sakura, their dark haired teammate hanging back, twirling a senbon in-between her fingers.

"Uchiha Sasuke. By the order of our Lord, and for your crimes committed, today, we become your executioners!" Dosu growled at the boy. Sasuke had no idea what he meant. Crimes? Against Sound? Or them personally? Whatever the case, Sasuke knew that he couldn't win a 3-on-1 fight, no matter how much his Sharingan helped him. His best chance was to try and reason with them.

"What? Is this about that incident in the first exam? Look, I don't know why you think it's my fault but I…" Sasuke never finished as a fist slammed right into his face. His ears began ringing as he began barfing on the forest floor. The bandaged Genin just smirked. He took a second to glance at Zaku, looking just in time to see the pink-haired girl rammed into a tree, effectively knocking her unconscious. He smirked as he aimed at the Uchiha. Sasuke standing, seeing that it was truly him versus these three Genin, knew there was almost no way out. Although he was grudging to admit it, if Naruto had been awake, he probably could have taken the genin on with his help. But now was not such a case. Before Sasuke could make his next move however, he was peppered by a multitude of senbon.

The bells began to ring as Sasuke suddenly began seeing multiples of each of the Sound Genin. There absolutely no way he could fight them now. With that thought in mind, he received a blow to the stomach from the bandaged Nin. In an attempt to put up a fight Sasuke began swinging punches and kicks wildly about him. None of them made contact. He was breathing heavily; the air around him seemed to be indecently thick. Now, Sasuke didn't know this at the time, but he was facing opposition almost no Genin could withstand. He had been taken by surprise and the combination of Zaku's Air Cannon, and Dosu's Melody Arm, plus the Genjutsu of Kin's bells, and Sasuke was doomed. Dosu was about to ram his fist once more into the over confident Uchiha's face, but for some unknown reason let it drop before backing off.

"We know this was not the true extent of your abilities Uchiha. Why did you not even attempt to use your Sharingan on us? Whatever the reason, do not gloat. For we will return at a more opportune moment to finish the job that we started here." Sasuke just sighed as they left. He was in no shape to fight. As Dosu backed off he reached into his cloak and removed a scroll from it. Setting it on the ground he backed away leaving Team Seven alone in the forest. Sasuke glanced around and noticed Naruto starting to move. He groaned and sat up. Sakura started yelling as she had just woken up.

"Naruto! You idiot! Why didn't you help Sasuke and me! We could have DIED! And you were laying there enjoying your fancy little nap! Why I…" Naruto blocked out her voice as another one seemed to take its place.

_**'Leave these fools…'**_ Naruto glanced around. Sakura was still ranting, but no one else was around. _**'What do they care about? Certainly not you… The Haruno only cares about Sasuke… And he only cares for killing his brother. What do they have to offer to YOU?' **_Naruto gritted his teeth as he laid his head in his hands.

_'They're my friends! I could never abandon them!' _

**'Naruto, I'm afraid that that voice is right.' **Naruto looked up.

_'Kurotsuki? Is… is that you?'_

**'Indeed it is boy. Need I remind you of your task? You are to become the Ookami Shitouken! I cannot believe you nearly forgot your duties. But, before you can assume the role, you require much more intensive training.'**

_'I'll just ask Kakashi-sensei! Maybe he can…'_

**'I'm sorry boy but, that sensei of yours will do nothing to help you. There is only one way for you to truly to attain the type of training you need. You cannot stay in this pathetic village much longer. You may not realize it right now, but they are only holding you back.'**

_'They…they wouldn't do that!'_

_**'Wouldn't they boy? What do they care of you? You've always been a demon to them… Now, if you want true acceptance, you must go to where you will be accepted. No matter how many furry friends you have.' **_Naruto didn't know who to listen to. He didn't want to leave Konoha, did he?

_**'Seek the wind-armed boy, the fur backed hunchback, and the needle siren. They will be able to guide you on your proper path.'**_ The voice disappeared and Naruto was left feeling along. Was there really someone who would help him master his werewolf powers? He knew he was to become a messenger, but, he needed to work on his werewolf form's control. If he even mentioned it in Konoha he would most surely be executed. He blinked as a fuzzy sound reached his ears.

"-uto! Naruto! Naruto have you even been listening to me!" The banshee shrieked at Naruto.

"No. I wasn't. Now will you PLEASE shut up! God damn Haruno, I have never heard of someone who can talk as much as you can. And a ninja no less. Aren't we supposed to be about stealth? Not about shrieking at our allies…" Sakura shut up after that comment. She knew Naruto had been far less affectionate after his ordeal in Wave but, now referring to her as Haruno? She knew something was wrong with Naruto. But what?

Sasuke stayed silent. His breath came in gasps. He was in a great amount of pain. The weapon on the bandaged Sound Nin's arm had hit him pretty hard. Although he didn't know it at the time, the vibrations had caused mildly serious internal injury to the Uchiha. Sasuke, being as proud as he was, refused to acknowledge that he was in pain or that he need some form of help. With that, the trio pushed forward, heading towards the tower. Naruto's thoughts unfocused on the exam.

--Several Hours Later--

Team Seven arrived at the tower relatively unharmed. They had almost stopped to rest when they met up with the boy Kabuto. But Naruto's perseverance to get to the tower kept them going. He was nearly running them ragged to get there. Neither Sasuke nor Sakura were in any real shape to fight. As they arrived at the tower with several hours to spare Sakura and Sasuke collapsed against a wall. Naruto took both scrolls opening them to reveal a random Chuunin. The Chuunin just waved them in seeing as how he had, "better things to do than welcome idiotic Genin." Naruto swore he saw the man pull out a pocket sized orange book as they left.

"Pervert…" Naruto mumbled under his breath as they entered the main Audience hall. The two teammates of Naruto joined a group gathering in the center of the arena. The Hokage was standing on a platform in front of them flanked by several Chuunin and Jounin. The Hokage stood in front of everyone before making the next announcement.

"I congratulate each and everyone of you on making it past the second exam of this Chuunin Exam. Congratulations to the five teams from Konoha." Naruto's, Kiba's, Shikamaru's, Neji's, and Kabuto's teams all nodded at the Hokage. "The team from Sound." The Sound Team nodded, Dosu glancing at the Konoha teams. "The team from Suna." Gaara's team made no move to recognize his statement. "The team from Rain." The Rain team glanced around, their breathing eerily filtering through masks. "And the team from Grass." Each member of the team wore wide brimmed hats and long coats. They gave off an aura of confidence. "Now, before we move on, I am sorry to say, but due to 27 participants passing the second exam we must hold a preliminary round. Before we begin, is there anyone here who wishes to forfeit their position? Be warned, this is the only time you will be given the option to withdraw without being place in a match. In these matches you will fight until one combatant is either dead, unable to fight, or the match is declared over by the examiner." Kabuto raised his hand stating he was out of chakra. Naruto watched him walk away noticing something strange about the boy. He shook it off as the Hokage announced the decision of the first match.

The large board spun through name after name. Each Genin clenched their fist whether in anticipation or fear none would know. The board slowed down and came to stop on two names.

_'Uchiha Sasuke VS Kinuta Dosu'_

Sasuke's eyes widened as the bandaged sound Nin with the fur jumped down to the arena staring at him; Uchiha Sasuke. Taunting him. Sasuke was still fairly beat up and knew he wouldn't be able to take much more. His internal injuries had had little time to heal, and he was still quite sore from the last time. However, he knew this time it was one on one, and he had the distinct advantage of his Sharingan. Sasuke walked down the steps and took his place opposite Dosu. The examiner brought his arm down declaring the match's start.

Sasuke activated his Sharingan as the Sound Nin merely looked at him. He charged the Genin intent on defeating him in the first few minutes of the match. Dosu expertly dodged Sasuke's punches and kicks. He never once moved his arms, as he seemingly swayed from side to side dodging everything thrown at him. Sasuke didn't risk a jutsu, not knowing the current state of his internal organs. Dosu was suddenly in Sasuke's face and delivered a stunning head smash right into Sasuke's face. Sasuke stumbled back clutching his face. Dosu took this opportunity to throw a flurry of kicks at the Uchiha. Sasuke took most of them not being able to see very well. He eventually got pissed off delivered a kick to Dosu's mid-section without leaving him time to dodge. Dosu skidded back several feet and was panting as was Sasuke.

Sasuke ran forward predicting Dosu's movement. He delivered a sliding upward kick to Dosu's chin. Dosu was knocked into the air as Sasuke leaped up next to him. He kicked Dosu even higher into the air. He reappeared above Dosu delivering a smash into his stomach knocking him into the floor causing a large boom and a decent sized crater below him. Sasuke began panting as an eerie laugh filled the arena.

"Is that all Uchiha? A couple of punches and a few kicks? Well then. I guess it's time I unleashed my trump card!" Dosu crawled out of the hole and reached behind him, gripping the fur on his back. He pulled it off to reveal a thin black box with a large circular indention in it.

"Sasuke, meet the Sonic Cannon. Sonic Cannon, Sasuke." Sasuke backed away. The thing was large. After witnessing the power of his Melody Arm, he did not want to see the power of the Sonic Cannon. Sasuke backed away as Dosu set the monstrosity down. He turned it towards Sasuke before slamming his fist down behind it. The Sonic Cannon drew in the sound and Dosu charged it with Chakra.

Sasuke was finished. A large blast of supersonic sound emitted from the machine. It was too high pitched to be heard but it blew Sasuke's eardrums to pieces making him deaf. He collapsed screaming, clutching his ears. Dosu smirked merely picking up his Cannon. He set it on his back placing the fur back over it. Sasuke's injuries had made him a far weaker opponent than he normally would have been, but Dosu had taken advantage of that aspect. The Medic Nins would easily be able to repair his eardrums, but he would be sensitive to sounds for a few days. However, most of the crowd was in shock that Sasuke had lost. The examiner, whose name was Hayate, raised his hand.

"The winner of the first match, Kinuta Dosu!"

Naruto watched with delayed interest. He didn't think Sasuke had a chance. His previous injuries combined with the exceptional power behind Dosu's attack made it near impossible for him to win. Even if Dosu's attacks missed they could further injure Sasuke. Plus, the Uchiha's confidence left him open to surprises. He should have learned after the first encounter that Sound Ninja have all sorts surprises. The board began to change once again as the second match's participants were selected.

_'Lee Vs Haruno Sakura'_

Lee leapt down, saddened by the fact that he was fighting his crush. Sakura trembled as she walked down to the arena. Hayate swung his arm down jumping back. Lee tried to follow a peaceful path.

"Sakura-san, please surrender. I do not wish to unnecessarily injure you!" Sakura merely drew a kunai.

"I'm sorry Lee, but I can't do that. For too long I've been the damsel in distress. It's time I took a stand." Sakura prepared for combat. Lee quickly overtook her with his impressive speed before a single kick to her head took her out of the match. Lee was declared as the winner as he walked back up to the stands, disappointed in his match.

The board once again selected two names as Sakura was carried off by a stretcher.

_'Sabaku no Gaara VS Mizuiro Shibafu'_

Gaara, one of the three Sand Nins simply walked calmly down the stairs. Mizuiro, a Grass Nin, followed suit. Mizuiro wore a simple blue robe, reflecting his name. (Mizuiro Shibafu translates to Blue Lawn) The two stood opposite each other. As soon as the match started Mizuiro jumped back.

"You will fall before Grass' might! Mizuiro Kusa no Jutsu­1!" Blades of grass formed from water began firing towards Gaara. The blades simply broke against his Suna no Tate2. Gaara then extended his hand.

"Sabaku Kyuu3!" A large amount of sand covered the Grass Nin. Many of the audience sighed. The preliminaries appeared like they would be over far too quickly. Many were hoping they could fight last. But it didn't like much of a consolation to go last if the matches only took a few seconds. Gaara lifted his victim into the air with his sand.

"Sabaku Sousou4." The sand imploded, crushing the target within it. His blood spewed forth from the sand as Gaara lowered his hand.

"Yes Mother… His blood was bad Mother? I will get you good blood Mother… Good blood…" Gaara was seemingly muttering to himself as he walked back up the stairs to join the other Suna Nin.

Hayate sighed. He wasn't getting paid enough for this. Well, at least at this rate the matches would end fairly quickly. He started up the board once again for it to select two new names.

_'Akado Yoroi VS Samui Oyu'_

The two participants made their way down to the floor being Hayate signaled the beginning of the match. Yoroi immediately took the opportunity to lunge forward grasping Oyu's head in his hand. He rammed Oyu's head into the floor before placing his foot on his stomach before pressing down to hold him there.

"Interesting technique. Some form of chakra absorption method I would presume?" Oyu's voice was strangely calm. It came out in bretahs of steam and had a disturbingly cold tone to it.

"So you can feel it can you? Just give it a few more minutes and you'll be helpless." Yoroi chuckled thinking his match was already won.

"A true ninja is never defenseless." Oyu formed several hand seals before calling out his jutsu. "Eien Ni Yuge5!" He opened his mouth and expelled hot steam right into Yoroi's face. Yoroi's cried out in pain as he clutched his face and rolled away from Oyu. Oyu calmly stood up steam still dribbling from the side of his mouth before he made more hand seals. "Eien Ni Kiri6!" A cold mist came from his mouth engulfing Yoroi. Yoroi began screaming in panic. He stumbled through the mist unsure of where he was.

"Surrender Yoroi. There is no chance of you winning this match. It is best to surrender now before your limbs are rendered useless."

Yoroi called out his reply in a frightened voice. "No! I can win this! You're the one who's lost. If only it weren't so cold…" Yoroi's voice died out. Oyu sighed before simply backing away. He held the technique for several minutes before calling out his next move. "Futsuu Kuuki7." The mist dispersed leaving behind the blackened form of Yoroi. His skin cracked before shattering at the sudden change of temperature. Oyu walked over before bowing over Yoroi's corpse.

"You were a worthy opponent Akado-san. If only your foolishness had not overcome your better judgment, I would not have been forced to subject you to a death by frostbite." Oyu bowed once more before walking away as Hayate declared Oyu the winner of the match. Oyu, once he had rejoined his team, bowed down on his knees before muttering and praying to someone. Hayate re-activated the board, wanting to get the next match underway. The names flashed before slowly settling on two names.

_'Tsuchi Kin VS Akamichi Chouji'_

The Sound Girl, Kin, grinned as she hopped down. A fight against Chouji would be an easy win. Chouji slowly ambled down, still munching his chips. As Hayate swung his arm announcing the start of the match.

"Alright chip-boy. Let's get this match started." Kin started with her staple bells. They had yet to fail her. As Chouji became affected by the bells he began seeing doubles of near everything.

"Ugh… what's, going on? I can't tell where anything is! You'll pay for this when I… uhh…" Chouji vomited on the floor, his vision spinning he seemed like he would be out of the match quite quickly.

"Hehe… I knew a fatass like you wouldn't be a challenge." Kin was outright laughing at Chouji. He lifted his head trying to focus in anger.

"No… one… calls me… FAT! Baika no Justu8!" Chouji's entire body expanded into a large ball like form.

"What the hell…" Kin started backing away. She hadn't seen anything like that before. She threw several more senbon that stuck in the boy's expanded flesh, but they only seemed to enrage the enlarged boy even more.

"I'M JUST BIG-BONED!" Chouji pulled his head, arms, and legs into the protective covering of his fat, before rolling towards Kin. The senbon snapped under the pressure of Chouji's immense girth. Kin attempted to use her other bells, but none seemed to have any effect. She was pushed right up against a wall, before Chouji cancelled his Baika no Jutsu.

"What the… how the hell did my bells not affect you!"

"While I'm in my Baika no Jutsu form, almost no sound can pass through my protective covering." Chouji was ready to finish the girl that had insulted him before she began pulling the strings of several bells Chouji hadn't hit.

"Well now that you're not in your protective form, you're done for!" Chouji began wobbling on his feet the jutsu getting to him once again. He formed several hand seals in a last ditch effort. Kin merely smirked thinking he was trying his Baika no Jutsu again.

"Bubun Baika no Jutsu9!" Kin was surprised by the new technique. Chouji's hand enlarged itself to enormous proportions before he slammed it into Kin, knocking her into the wall, rendering her unconscious and unable to fight. Hayate raised his hand.

"The winner of this match is Akamichi Chouji!" Chouji smiled as he walked back up to join his team.

"Good job Chouji. We'll go get some barbecue to celebrate your advancement to the finals when this is all over." Chouji's sensei, Sarutobi Asuma, smiled at his young charge as he cheered. Their joy was short-lived as the board displayed the next set of combatants.

_'Kiniro Aki VS Nara Shikamaru'_

The Grass Nin known as Aki walked down to the arena his wide brimmed hat shadowing his face. Shikamaru just leaned backwards as he sighed. "It would just be easier to give up." Naruto smirked as Shikamaru looked at him. "Naruto, what are you… AAAAHHHH!!" Naruto had shoved Shikamaru unceremoniously onto the arena floor.

"Can't let the Prey have no Hunter!" Shikamaru just mumbled to himself.

"When I catch you Naruto… you are SO dead…" Shikamaru grumbled as he stood up facing Aki.

"Nara Shikamaru VS Kiniro Aki, BEGIN!" Hayate jumped backwards as the match started. Aki and Shikamaru just stood there, neither moving. Shikamaru braced himself while Aki just stood there.

"The quiet is pleasant is it not?" Shikamaru blinked at him.

"Excuse me?"

"The quiet. With nothing happening. It is like the gentle forests of Grass at the eve of summer when all is restful in the glorious warmth of a benevolent sun." Shikamaru was starting to get a little annoyed.

"What the hell are you? A damn poet?" Ino and Chouji's mouths were hanging open. Shikamaru never swore. But something about Aki was getting under his skin.

"Have you ever experienced the fury of a forest in the gale of a storm?"

"What?" Shikamaru had no time to react as Aki held out his arms.

"Aki Kaze Haretsu10!" A gale of fall leaves blew from Aki's sleeves. Shikamaru attempted to dodge but the leaves were too plentiful. He crossed his arms over his face in an attempt to block the leaves. However, when they hit him they just floated down like normal leaves.

"That's it? You shot leaves at me?" Shikamaru was confused. Leaves? That's it?

"All leaves must fall sometime or another Nara-san. Suchiiru Happa no Jutsu11!" The leaves all turned stiff and sharp as several cut into Shikamaru's feet.

"What in the…" Aki just chuckled.

"Tobimasu Happa no Justu12." The leaves began to float in mid-air before flying towards Shikamaru. He dove out of the way, just in time to see the leaves slam into the statue and wedge themselves into the thick stone. Aki just simply swung his arms again sending more and more leaves at Shikamaru. Shikamaru dove once against. He continued dodging before he wedged himself behind the statue. Aki just smiled under his hat.

"Take all the time you want Nara-san. The seasons wait when necessary." Shikamaru panted as he hid behind the statue. He was safe for now. From what he had seen the leaves couldn't cut through stone. Shikamaru placed his hands in his circle sign before closing his eyes. He concentrated for several moments before opening them once again.

"I've only got on shot at this…" Shikamaru jumped out from behind the statue forming handseals. As he finished them Aki swung his arm out sending leaves at Shikamaru. Shikamaru finished his hand seals calling out the name of his technique. "Kagemane no Jutsu…Success." Aki tried to move his arm but couldn't. He also noticed his leaves had paused in mid-air. He noticed Shikamaru holding the exact same position as him.

"What is this you have done Nara-san? Changed the flow of a river to that of which it opposes? Truly a force to be reckoned with indeed." Shikamaru just smirked.

"My Kagemane jutsu allows me to take control of your body using the extension of my shadow. I now control your every move."

"Hm, tell me then Nara-san, if you use shadows, how was yours long enough to reach me when the light of our lives covers everything?"

"Your leaves. They cast a shadow that covers nearly the entire floor. It was a simple task to slip my shadow underneath them and entrap you. Now surrender."

"I see your plan was very clever Nara-san, but I am afraid I cannot comply."

"I'm telling you, surrender, or you will die." To prove his point Shikamaru pulled his arm closer to himself, forcing Aki to do the same, pulling his leaves closer to him.

"Just as the mighty mountains yield to no man I cannot surrender to you." Aki was staring at Shikamaru as he spoke.

"I don't really want to kill you."

"You have no choice Nara-san. It is my life or your defeat. Which is more important to you?" Aki just stared ahead as Shikamaru let his arms down.

"I can't do it I can't kill you."

"Then Nara-san, I am afraid that this match goes to you." Shikamaru stared at him in amazement.

"What do you mean? I basically just surrendered to you!"

"It is the flow of time to have all resist it. If everything merely follows, what place does it have? I am honored to have been able to fight against you, but now is my time." Shikamaru attempted a second Kagemane jutsu, but he was too late. Aki had sent his leaves towards body. The leaves had gone through his flesh, severing his heart into two pieces. The blood slowly leaked into the leaves surrounding him. Shikamaru looked at the young man. When he had fallen backwards his hat had fallen off. Beneath was a head of green hair, several twigs stuck in it. His face bore an expression of calm serenity. Shikamaru bowed.

"We are Shinobi. We are not honor bound like Samurai. But I feel no joy in watching my opponent cause his own death." Shikamaru turned and walked up the stairs.

"The winner of the match is Nara Shikamaru!" Ino, Chouji, and Asuma were all saddened by the death of Shikamaru's opponent. They knew it was hard for him. It was mainly his fault his opponent had died; at least to him it appeared that way. Team 10 knew the only thing they could really do was comfort him to the best of their abilities and hope he could pull through.

The board once again began selecting combatants. Many crossed their fingers hoping they wouldn't be picked. The board slowed down and stopped on the next two unlucky genin.

_'Yamanaka Ino VS Sabaku no Kankurou' _

Kankurou, a Sand Nin carrying a large bandage covered package on his back jumped down. His face-paint giving the illusion of a disturbing clown. Ino slowly walked down the stairs, slightly trembling. She had seen what his teammate had been able to do. He had been ruthless in the killing of his opponent. Was his teammate any different. Ino steeled herself as she walked across the floor.

_'I'm a ninja dammit! A NINJA. I'm not supposed to be afraid of ANYTHING. I can take this guy. He can't be that hard now can he?' _Ino's thoughts were those of resolve, while Kankurou's were slightly more… distant.

_'I can't wait to get back home. Back to my porn. Oh Icha Icha Paradise here I come!' _Needless to say Kankurou was a closet pervert. A very intelligent and ruthless fighter of a pervert, but a pervert none the less.

Hayate drew his arm down. "May the match begin!" Leaping back Ino prepared herself for her battle. Kankurou merely stood still waiting to see what technique she would use. Ino formed several hand seals and placed her hands in her family's traditional jutsu sign.

Kankurou stared at Ino. _'Ok. Never seen this jutsu before. Gotta watch out for it. Although, so far these Konoha ninja look like pansies. One guy won cause he was fat, the other beat up a weakling girl. Humph. No tact there. When dealing with women one should always…' _Kankurou also had a tendency to go off on tangents in his own mind. While thinking to himself, Kankurou missed Ino's completion of her jutsu.

Ino's spirit separated itself from her body before taking over Kankurou's. Ino, now in Kankurou's body looked around for a moment. She saw her body lying on the ground on the other side of the field. Ino, knowing that if this guy's mind was strong, would only have seconds to complete her tactic.

_'…And then you ask the girl out! I mean, it's never worked for me so far, but Jiraiya-sama said it would work so it must! Wait a minute! Why can't I move!' _Again, Kankurou was not very observant, and as such had cost himself the match.

"Proctor, I forfeit." Hayate looked at Kankurou before nodding.

"The winner of this match is Yamanaka Ino!" Ino cancelled her jutsu before taking up residence in her own body. She cheered as she took her place with her team while Asuma grinned. He so far was the only one to have two thirds of his team advance to the finals. Kankurou was being beaten over the head by his sister Temari for losing.

"How could you forfeit! She's a weak fan girl from KONOHA! And you LOST to her! Why didn't you use Karasu you could've…"

"Ow! Ow! Sis! I'm telling you I didn't forfeit! One minute I was thinking and the next…"

"YOU WERE DAYDREAMING! THAT'S IT! YOU'RE GOING DOWN!" Kankurou let out a wail as Temari proceeded to beat him mercilessly with her large fan. Baki, their Jounin instructor, cringed as he watched Temari maul Kankurou, but deep down, he knew it was their way of expressing sibling love for each other. He sighed however, knowing he would need to have a serious talk with Kankurou. his daydreaming about porn had cost them too much this time. 

The next several fights went down fairly quickly. Temari was facing off against Tenten from Maito Gai's team. Temari, in an effort to redeem the Sand team, tore viciously into Tenten, sparing nothing. Tenten, although a master of many different varieties of weapons, fell due to her fatal weakness of not being able to effectively fight against wind. Zaku and Shino were next. Shino simply blew off Zaku's arm when he attempted to use his Zankuuha. Kabuto's teammate faced off against another member of the Rain village. Both were knocked out in the final seconds, Kabuto's teammate from a large surge of water, the Rain village member from Chakra exhaustion.

The only fight worth any note was the one of Hyuuga Neji versus Hyuuga Hinata. Neji tore Hinata's feeble mental defenses to shreds with his stinging comments. Hinata attempted to fight back, but Neji was pressing the offensive too hard. Hinata was inevitably knocked out. Hinata had at one point, looked towards Naruto for inspiration. She was only met by steely green eyes that held no emotion towards her. Hinata was spared a crippling blow and Neji's anger was seemingly assuaged.

The second to last match was that of a Grass and Rain village members. The fight ended in a draw. Both combatants were killed when the Grass village member unleashed deadly fungus spores. Several spores inadvertently landed on him, and using his wounds as a transport system, implanted themselves in his heart, before bursting it as the Rain village member died under their lethal poison. However, the final match proved to be an interesting one.

The scoreboard lay silent. Hayate made no move to call the combatants. No one moved. Waiting for one of the combatants to move. Kiba, finally fed up with the waiting gave in to the pressure.

"Alright Akamaru! Let's go kick the Dobe's ass!" Kiba leaped over the railing and landed on the ground a feral smirk adorning his visage. Naruto looked down upon him before leaping over the edge in a similar but more graceful fashion. He landed with barely a sound before looking at Kiba.

"You have already revealed your greatest weakness Inuzuka. Forfeit now, before I am forced to create unnecessary bloodshed." Kiba just laughed at him.

"You have no idea what you're talking about! Come on Akamaru let's get this fight started! Juujin Bunshin!" Akamaru transformed into a feral copy of Kiba, as Kiba changed to hold the same look. Both lunged forward towards Naruto in an attempt to defeat him before the match could even truly get underway. Naruto simply sidestepped or bent under every slash or strike directed at him.

"Is this all the famed beast-masters of the Inuzuka clan can do? Perhaps I should take up your mantle Kiba. You're obviously not fit to have anything to do with beasts." Kiba growled.

"You'll pay for that Uzumaki!" Kiba was growing frustrated.

"Then show me Inuzuka! Earn your title! Unleash your fury upon me!" Naruto was practically yelling. Kiba growled before launching himself and Akamaru through the air in a spinning motion.

"Gatsuuga!" Naruto didn't move as the attack slammed into him and he flew backwards into the wall. A large cloud of rubble and dust rose over his prone form. Kiba stood up and smirked.

"Call the match proctor. He won't be getting up anytime soon." Before Kiba's victory could be claimed an eerie laugh rose from the pile of rubble.

"I told you what your biggest weakness was Inuzuka! But you were too brash to listen! What's the use of your ears if they don't work? Perhaps I'll do you a favor by removing them!" Kiba stood a shaky step backwards. Naruto rose seemingly unscathed from the rubble. His shirt was torn in several places, but no other damage seemed apparent. Naruto started walking towards Kiba.

"When you were the first to break the silence in such a manner, you proved your impatience and short temper. One can easily turn that back around on you. As I have. Plus, you severely underestimate me. Allow me to demonstrate the power of a **real** beast!" The Akamaru-Kiba jumped in the way of Naruto in an attempt to prevent his further progression towards his master.

"A dog protecting its master. How quaint. But you know what they say. A dog doesn't know its place, until it is told!" As he finished Naruto backhanded Akamaru across the Arena. Kiba started backing up. Naruto walked right up to Kiba before grinning.

Naruto gripped Kiba's throat in his iron-like grasp. He lifted him off the ground before staring him in the eyes. Naruto's sleeve ripped into pieces as a swirl of chakra encircled it. It bulged with muscle before becoming covered in black fur, steel like claws coming from his fingertips, threatening to pierce Kiba's throat.

"The best inside can't be contained Kiba. But it can be controlled. Now surrender. I don't want to have to kill you." Kiba nodded before raising his arm and surrendering.

"The winner of the final match of the Chuunin Exam Preliminaries is Uzumaki Naruto!"

--End--

A/N: A decent sized chapter. I cut the ending short to get this posted before I have my Wisdom Teeth removed. If it's poor quality, I apologize. But it soon becomes more interesting. The next chapters involves the Demon World, The Sound Trio, and the Advice of Kyuubi.


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